UC-NRLF 


B  ^  bOS   7E1 


♦:>^ 


m 


■   I   ■    ■   i  ■    '  ! 


h 


i'!i'V"fiililiiiiill'ilnii' 


i 


LA    PLATA, 


THE 


ARGENTINE  CONFEDERATION, 


AND 


PARAGUAY. 


being  a  narrative  op  the  exploration  of  the  tributaries  op  the 
river  la  plata  and  adjacent  countries  during  the  years 

1853,  '54,  '55,  and  '66, 
under  the  orders  of  the  united  states  government. 


BY   THOMAS  J.  PAGE,  U.  S.  N., 

OOMMANDEK  OF  THE  EXPEDITION. 


tiJitl)  Map  anb  Numerous  (l^ngraoings. 


NEW    YORK: 

HAEPER    &    BROTHERS,    PUBLISHERS, 

FRANKLIN    SQUARE. 


\3 


Entered,  according  to  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  one  thousand  eight  hundred 

and  fifty-nine,  by 

HARPER    &    BROTHERS, 

in  the  Clerk's  Office  of  the  District  Court  of  the  Southern  District  of  New  York. 


S*rcroH  Llfcrtry 

DnfvsMfy  of  ColrtcMOi* 

Wl  'M  DRAWN 

^C   3  p  t 

CIUMPTON  ACCE^SiOtt 
MAHCRQFl  UBSAfiY 

5i^ 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

Urquiza's  Decree,  opening  tlie  Waters  of  La  Plata. — The  Expedition. — Its  Ob- 
jects.— The  Water  Witch. — Her  Sea  Quah'ties. — The  Voyage. — Arrival  at  Rio 
de  Janeiro. — Correspondence  with  the  Government. — Permission  granted  to  as- 
cend to  Albuquerque. — Further  Extension  of  this  Privilege. — Pamperos. — The 
Morgan  Wheel. — French  Charts. — Arrival  at  Montevideo. — Quarantine. — Yellow- 
Fever. — Montevideo. — Its  Trade  and  Population. — Colonel  Paunero....Page  25 

CHAPTER  II. 

Arrival  at  Buenos  Ayres. — Its  Site. — Winds. — Higueritas. — Trade. — Buildings. — 
Fruits  and  Flowers. — Landing  at  Buenos  Ayres. — Besiegers  and  Besieged. — Our 
Ministers. — Treaty  with  President  Lopez. — Urquiza's  Army. — Visit  at  Head- 
quarters.— Personal  Appearance  of  the  General. — He  interests  himself  in  the 
Expedition. — Detention  at  Buenos  Ayres. — Letter  from  Mr.  Pendleton. — Treach- 
ery in  the  Squadron. — Joint  Treaty  of  Navigation. — Martin  Garcia  Channel. — 
New  Channel  discovered. — Letter  from  Messrs.  Schenck  and  Pendleton. — Break- 
ing up  of  the  Siege. — Senor  Urquiza  and  Staff  on  board  the  Water  Witch. — Pa- 
lermo, the  former  Residence  of  Rosas. — The  Dictator  and  his  Daughter  Manu- 
elita. — Urquiza's  Dog. — The  Director's  Demeanor. — The  Voyage. — Ladies  on 
board. — Temperance  of  Urquiza. — He  leaves  the  Water  Witch. — Return  to 
Buenos  Ayres. — Tribute  to  British  Officers 35 

CHAPTER  III. 

Letter  from  Mr.  Schenck. — Visit  to  the  Estancia  of  General  Urquiza. — ^Framing 
of  the  Treaty. — Marking  Cattle. — Farm  and  Residence  of  the  Director. — Os- 
triches, Partridges,  and  Deer:  Mode  of  hunting  them. — Horses. — Return  to 
Buenos  Ayres. — The  Galera. — Reception  at  Concepcion. — The  College. — The 
Ball. — Native  Grace  of  Spanish  American  Women. — Leave  Concepcion. — The 
Water  Witch. — Coaling  at  Buenos  Ayres. — Final  Departure  for  the  Ascent  of 
the  River 51 

CHAPTER  IV. 
Chronometers. — Determinations  of  Latitude  and  Longitude. — Construction  of 
Charts. —  Delta  of  the  Parana. —  Diamante. —  Fruits. —  Oranges. —  Peaches. — 
Beautiful  Scenery. — Mouths  of  the  Parana. — The  Parbon. — The  Gualaguay. — 
TheRepunte. — Periodical  Risings  of  Water. — Islands. — The  Seibo  and  Sause. — 
San  Pedro. — Obligardo. — Passage  forced  by  the  English  and  French.— Island 
Formations. — Variations  of  Channel. — Pilots. — Estancieros. —  San  Nicholas. — 
Rosario. — Its  commercial  Importance. — Advantages  over  Buenos  Ayres. — Winds. 
— Letter  of  R.  B.  Forbes,  Esq. — Banks  of  the  River. — Convent  of  San  Lorenzo. — 
The  Tercero. — Mr.  Campbell's  Sui-vey. — The  Chaco  Hills. — Scenery. — Diaman- 
te.— Ferries. — Trees. — The  Algarroba  and  Espinilla 64 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  V. 

Left  Bank  of  the  Parana. — Survey  made  by  Lieutenant  Powell. — Climbing  the 
Tree. — Victoria. — Descending  the  Parana  Cito. — Puerto  de  los  Bues. — Guala- 
guay. — El  Puerto  de  Ybicui. — A  Canal. — Paciencia. — Physical  Changes. — The 
Colastine. — Capella  de  San  Jose. — Santa  Fe. — The  Chaco. — Its  Inhabitants. — 
Parana. — Bajada. — Progress. — Pine  Lumber. — Commercial  Prospects. — Cedar. 
— Surface  Soil. — Dr.  Martin  de  Moussy's  Report. — Plan  of  Parana. — Buildings 
and  Population. — River  Banks. — Estancia  of  an  Englishman. — Feliciana. — La 
Paz. — The  Jefe  de  Politica  and  the  Curate. — Fuel. — Pass  of  San  Juan. — Course 
of  the  River. — Sullivan's  Charts. — "Wild  Fowl. — The  Espinilla. — Capibaras  or 
Capinchas. — Locusts. — Catching  a  Deer. — Riacho  Caraguatay. — Riacho  San 
Geronimo. — Goya. — Capincha  Chase. — Bella  Vista. — Productions. — Fishing. — 
Tobacco  Island. — Hunting  for  Specimens. — Taquari  Chico. — An  Orange  Estan- 
cia.— The  Camilote. — Arrival  at  Corrientes. — Visit  to  the  Governor. — Visit  from 
the  Governor. — City  of  Corrientes. — Easy  Navigation  of  the  River. — Fine  Woods 
for  Fuel. — Resources  of  the  River  Provinces. — Table  of  Distances Page  79 

CHAPTER  VI. 
The  Waters  of  the  Paraguay  and  Parana. — Affluents  of  the  Paraguay. — Enter 
the  Territory  of  Paraguay. — Salute  to  the  Admiral  of  the  Navy  of  the  Republic 
of  Paraguay. — Visit  from  the  Admiral. — Boundaries  of  the  South  American  Re- 
publics.— Banks  of  the  Paraguay. — Palm-trees  and  beautiful  Scenery. — Guardias 
and  Piquetes. — Tres  Bocas. — Guardia  Humaita. — President  Lopez  and  the  Bra- 
zilian Squadron. — Vermejo  River. — Pillar. — Caiia. — Caranday  Palm. — The  Ti- 
biquari. — Salute  of  Musketry. — Villa  Franca. — The  Commandante. — The  Las- 
so and  Bolas. — Oliva. — Villa  Villeta. — A  Cigar  with  the  Commandante. — San 
Antonio. — Mount  Lambare. — Arrival  at  Asuncion. — Rise  and  Fall  of  the  Para- 
guay   105 

CHAPTER  VIL 

Interviews  with  President  Lopez. — Negotiations. — Residence  at  Asuncion. — The 
City. — Buildings. — Francia's  Tomb. — Francia's  Cruelties. — Isolation  of  Para- 
guay.— Francia's  System. — Dahlgreen's  Howitzer. — The  American  Company. — 
Celebration  of  Lopez's  Birth-day. — Reception  at  the  Government  House. — Grand 
Ball  at  the  Residence  of  the  Chief  Justice. — The  Speech 116 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

Departure  from  Asuncion. — The  President's  Quinta. — Salinas. — A  Hill. — The  Con- 
fuso. — The  Salado. — Estancia  of  Lopez. — Variety  of  Woods  and  Fruits. — Que- 
bracho.—  Capiepomo. — Guazu.  —  Cattle.  —  Hospitality.  —  River  Scenery.  —  An 
Accident  to  Engine. — Piquete  Ytati. — Wood  for  Steamers. — Plants  and  Shrubs. 
— River  Jejui. — San  Pedro. — Another  Accident  to  Engine. — Guaycuru  Rembiu. 
— Government  Estancia. — The  Pacu  Fish. — River  Changes. — The  Ypane. — Ar- 
rival at  Concepcion 128 

CHAPTER  IX. 

Concepcion. — ^Yerba. — Government  Monopolies  and  Restrictions  placed  upon  Trade. 
— Favorable  Reception. — Guembe  and  Guembetaya. — The  Water  Witch. — A  Ball 
at  the  Comraandante's  House. — A  Quandary. — Danced  down. — Senor  Tachiera. 
— Costumes. — Wood  for  Steamer. — Rio  Saladillo. — Salinas. —  Indians. —  The 
Caciques. — A  Shaking  of  Hands  and  a  Smoke. — Palm  Forest, — Salvador. — Heat. 


CONTENTS. 


XI 


— State  of  the  Conntry. — The  Abatiguaniba. — Caragtiatay  Guazu. — Mannfactures 
of  its  Thread. — Thorns  converted  into  Needles. — The  Datil. — Reptile  Hunting. 
— Supplies. — Value  of  Hide. — Piquete  Arracife. — Heat. — Paso  Melo. — Mount- 
ed Indians  from  the  Chaco. — Piquete  Judiarte. — Guardia  Apatuya. — Beautiful 
Scenery. — The  Morada  and  Ytapucu  Guazu. — The  Children  of  the  Gran  Chaco. 
— Equestrian  and  Pedestrian. — Size,  Strength,  and  Longevity. — An  Octogenarian 
in  the  Flower  of  his  Age. — Nabidigua. — TheMbayas. — Their  Slaves. — The  Gua- 
rani. — Spiritual  Notions  of  the  Aborigines. — No  Word  for  God  or  Divinity. — Ahar- 
aigichi. — Jupa. — Inferior  Creatures  or  not? Page  136 

CHAPTER  X. 

Rio  Appa. — A  Tapir. — Differences  between  Brazil  and  Paraguay  as  to  the  Boixnda- 
ries. — Letter  from  Mr.  Hudson. — Point  Rock. — Sierra  Siete  Punta. — Pan  de 
Azucar. — Ascent  of  the  Mountain. — The  View. — Speculations  on  the  Future  of 
this  Country. — Round  Top. — Fort  Bourbon. — Claims  of  Bolivia  and  Paraguay. 
— Bahia  Blanca. — Vuelta  Pariquito. — Capon  Chico. — A  Boa. — Dorado,  Pacu, 
and  Palometa.— Ascent  of  the  Bahia  Blanca. — Camelotas. — Suspending  of  the 
Bottle  to  a  Tree. — Proposition  of  Don  Manuel  Louis  de  Oliden. — Grant  by  the 
Congress  of  Bolivia. — Decree  of  the  Supreme  Government. — Importance  at- 
tached to  the  Navigation  of  the  Otuquis. — Extract  from  a  Pamphlet  by  Mauri- 
cio  Back. — Fort  Coimbra. — Flattering  Expressions  of  the  Commandante. — The 
Guaycurus. — Policy  of  Brazil  toward  the  Chaco  Indians.^ — The  Canoe 160 

CHAPTER  XI.  * 

The  Moro  Dorito. — Curalo  Todo. — Tea,  Coffee,  and  Milk. — Position  of  Anchorage 
off  Albuquerque. — The  Miranda. — The  Tacuary. — Azara's  Maps. — The  Cam- 
barasa. — The  Paraguay  Mini. — Corumba. — The  Guatambu. — Hunting  the  Ja- 
guar.— Fruits. — Return  to  Albuquerque. — Village  of  Mbayas. — An  Indian  Mis- 
sion.— Rice  and  Cotton. — Schools. — The  Padre. — A  Dance. — Missionary  Effort. 
— The  Jesuits. — The  Dinner  on  board  the  Water  Witch. — Trade  of  Cuyaba. — 
Bolivian  Refugees. — The  Grotto  Inferno. — Capture  of  a  Sentinel. — Fate  of  the 
Refugees. — Birds. — The  Jaguar. — Its  Ferocity. — Lenguas  Indians. — The  Com- 
mandante wears  a  long  Face. — The  Yellow  Parrot. — Anchored  off  Asuncion. — 
A  Storm  brewing 182 

CHAPTER  XII. 
The  Captain  of  the  Port. — Momentous  Question. — A  Call  at  the  Government 
House. — The  Secretary  of  State. — Visit  to  the  President. — The  Anniversary  of 
Paraguayan  Independence. — Minor  Explorations. — Congress  of  1812.  —  The 
Consuls. — Francia. — Provisional  Junta. — Another  Congress. — President  Lo- 
pez.— The  Constitution. — Ignorance  of  the  People. — Society. — Sefioritas  and 
Flowers. — Paraguay  Tobacco  and  Smokers. — The  Siesta. — Another  Call  upon 
the  President. — The  Vaquerano. — A  Tour  into  Paraguay. — Sefior  Don  Jaimi  Cor- 
vallan. — Perijii. — Sefiora  Dalmacia. — Villa  Rica. — Don  Louis  Homan. — The 
Tebiquari. — The  Recado. — Puesta  del  Estado  de  Jesus  Maria. — The  Dinner. — 
The  Peripo. — Mr.  Francis  Wisner. — Sefior  Sergente  Lopez, — Sefiora  Clara. — 
Manufacture  of  Cigars. — The  Taquari. — Fertility  of  the  Country. — Medical  Men. 
— Healthful  Climate. — Puebla  Carmen.— ^Don  Mariana. — The  Yiin. — El  Secre- 
tario. — Ytapua 198 


xii  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

Francia. — Religion  and  the  Churches. — Ytapua. — The  Commandante  and  Soldiers. 
— Navigability  of  the  Parana. — Carmen. — Equipments  of  Horses. — Mission  of  San 
Cosmi. — Estancia  San  Rafael. — Mate. — Frescoes. — D.  Ignacio's  Horse. — CapiUa 
San  Martin. — The  Supper. — Missions  Santa  Maria  and  Santa  Rosa. — Estancia 
of  Sefiora  Casara. — The  Merchant  President. — Seiior  Cabenas. — Capilla  Caa- 
pucu. — Senor  Vasconcellos. — The  Diezmo. — Public  Lands. — Seiior  Bergarran. 
— Iron  Works. — The  Waiter. — The  Superintendent. — Ibicui. — Mineral  Districts. 
— Products  and  Exports  of  Paraguay. — The  Surgeon  of  the  Water  Witch. — 
Beauty  and  Fertility  of  the  Country. — Presidential  Election. — No  Admittance. 
— A  Motion  to  make  the  President  Emperor. — The  Constitution. — Individual 
Wealth. — Cotton. — Lists  of  Exports  from  Asuncion Page  224 

CHAPTER  XIV. 
Expedition  under  Geronimo  Metorras. — Colonel  Arrias. — Murillo  and  Lapa. — 
Colonel  Ariadne  Cornejo. — Don  Pablo  Soria. — Steamer  Pilcomayo. — Lieutenant 
Powell  instnicted  to  enter  the  Interior  of  Paraguay. — Want  of  Game  and  Fish. 
— Force  of  the  Current. — Tobas  Indians. — Nacurutu. — Palms. — Rio  Saco. — De 
loi  Carui. — Visit  to  the  Toldo — Paso  da  Lurbi. — River  ascended  one  hundred 
and  twenty  Miles. — Channel. — Descending  a  Cascade. — A  Hunt  with  Dr.  Car- 
ter.— Lost. — Signals. — The  Howitzer  replies. — Safe  Return. — Descending  the 
River. — Mr. -Hickman. — Letter  from  Mr.  Dana 243 

CHAPTER  XV. 

Visit  to  the  President. — Boat-cruise  up  the  Riachuelo. — Victoria  Regia  or  Mais 
del  Agua. — Orange  Groves. — The  Plow. — Posta  Contaro. — San  Cosmi. — Ytati. 
— Hacienda  Yrisbugua. — Race  with  an  Ostrich. — Breaking  a  Horse. — Troubles 
at  Asuncion. — Visit  to  the  President. — Consultation  with  Mr.  Hopkins. — Return 
to  the  Government-house. — Last  Interview  with  his  Excellency. — The  Permit. 
— Correspondence  with  Mr.  Falcon. — Council  at  Head-quarters. — Americans  on 
board,  descending  the  River. — The  Navy  heaves  in  Sight. — Passing  the  Admi- 
ral.— The  President's  Indignation  and  the  Seminario. — The  Treaty. — Mr.  Fal- 
con's extraordinary  Letter. — False  Charges  in  the  President's  Message. — The 
French  Colony. — The  Brazilian  Squadron. — Outrage  committed  upon  the  Water 
Witch. — What  our  Policy  with  South  American  States  should  be 263 

CHAPTER  XVI. 
Lieutenant  Powell  dispatched  to  Montevideo. — Mr.  Murdaugh  ordered  to  explore 
the  southern  and  western  parts  of  the  Province. — Extract  from  Journal  of  Lieu- 
tenant Murdaugh. — Cotton. — Saladas. — Sugar. — San  Roque. — Return  to  Bella 
Vista. — Goya. — Rincon  de  Soto. — A  Tour  in  the  Governor's  Galera. — A  Bivou- 
ac.—  Curuzu  Quatia. — Return. — River  Mirinay. —  Estancia  Bonpland. — Res- 
tauracion. — Uruguayana. — Note  from  M.  Bonpland. — Imprisonment  of  the  Nat- 
uralist.— Tobacco. — Coffee. — Lagoon  of  Ybera 288 

CHAPTER  XVII. 
The  Dinner  at  Corrientes. — The  Address. — Toasts  and  Wine. — A  Cargo  of  Lum- 
ber.— The  Saladero. — The  Water  Witch  dispatched  ivp  the  Parana. — Sudden 
Return  of  Lieutenant  Jeffers. — The  Steamer  run  aground  by  the  Pilot. — Fired 
into  from  the  Fort,  killing  the  Helmsman. — False  Claims  of  President  Lopez  to 
the  Channel. — Erroneous  Statements  and  Fancy  Sketches  of  the  President  of 


CONTENTS.  xiii 

Paraguay. — Affection  for  the  Salto  Grande. — Dispatch  to  our  Government. — Its 
Contents  refuted. — Return  to  Buenos  Ayres. — Lieutenant  Powell  dispatched  to 
Rio. — Arrival  of  the  Savannah. — Indecision  of  the  Commodore. — Refusal  to 
grant  the  Guns. — United  Stales  Legation  versus  United  States  Squadron. — What 
should  have  been  done. — Dispatch  from  Sefior  Vasquez. — The  Commodore  im- 
pressed with  the  Fact  of  the  Parana  containing  sufficient  Depth  of  Water  to  ad- 
mit a  Sloop  of  War Page  301 

CHAPTER  XVIIL 
Island  of  Martin  Garcia. — Pass  of  San  Juan. — Town  of  Higueritas. — The  Brasso 
Bravo. —  Rio  Negro. — The  Gualaguaychu. — Concepcion. — Frey  Bentos. — Fine 
Pasturage. — Herds  of  Cattle. — Arrival  at  Concepcion. — College. — Saladeros. — 
Town  of  Paisandu. — An  Englishman's  Estancia. — Current  of  the  River. — Palm 
Forests  of  Eutre  Rios. — The  Arroyo  Grande. — Paso  Heredera. — Town  of  Con- 
cordia.— Trade. — Salto. — The  Salto  Grande. — Killing  a  Partridge. — Rise  of  Wa- 
ter.— Tide. — Track  Sur^'ey  of  the  Rio  Negro. — Town  of  Soriana. — Mercedes. — 
Sarsaparilla. — Fossil  Remains. — Megatherium  and  Glyptodon. — Health  of  this 
Region  of  Country. — Cattle  and  Estancias 318 

CHAPTER  XIX. 
Chartering  of  the  little  Steamer. — Arrival  at  Santa  Fe. — Province  of  Santa  Fe. — 
Civil  Wars  and  Independence. — Wood. — Ascent  of  the  River. — Animal  Life. — 
Ducks,  Jaguars,  Capibaras,  and  Armadillos. — The  Diver,  Podiceps  leucopterus. — 
Planting  of  sweet  Potatoes. — The  Crucito. — The  Saladito. — La  Cruz. — The  Bed 
of  a  Lagoon. — Monte  Aguara. — The  Return. — Current  and  Width  of  the  River. — 
The  Jaguar. — Density  of  the  Salado  Water. — Journey  by  Land  to  the  upper  Wa- 
ters.— A  Tatu. — Quebracho. — The  Mirage. — The  surly  Officer. — The  Tongue  of 
the  taciturn  Argentino  loosened. — The  Segundo. — Tio  or  Concepcion. — Algor- 
roba  and  Soil. — Arrival  at  Cordova. — List  of  Distances 332 

CHAPTER  XX. 
Cordova. — De  Garay. — Population  of  the  Province. — The  City  of  Cordova. — Trade. 

— Rail-road  surveyed  by  Mr.  Campbell. — Madam  .  — Cathedral  and  Public 

Buildings. — The  Colegio  Maximo. — Paintings. — Dr.  Hawling's  Tannery. — The 
Market. — Copper  in  the  Sierras  of  Cordova. — Sefior  Zuverir. — Mineral  Districts. 
— A  Journey  to  Santiago. — Appearance  of  the  Horses  :  their  Powers  of  Endur- 
ance.— Valley  of  Jesus  Maria. — Shepherds'  Dogs. — Divisidero. — Posta  San  Pe- 
dro.— Rosario. — Hard  Riding. — Posta  del  Monte. — Bed  of  the  Rio  Dulce. — 
Quichua  Language. — Perqui. — The  Harpist. — The  Tropero. — A  Dance  and  no 
Supper. — Cana. — Another  Tropa. — Arrival  at  Santiago 348 

CHAPTER  XXI. 
Santiago. — Government  House. — Trade  and  Population. — No  Hotels. — Pair  of 
Gloves.  —  Visit  to  the  Governor. — Don  Taboado.  —  The  Boat.  —  Quintas  and 
Fruits.— Chills  at  Santiago.— The  Pic-nic— The  Dulce.— Bed  of  the  Salado. — 
The  Saladillo.— The  Fjor  del  aria.— The  Ulna.— Luxuriant  Foliage.— The  Slevre. 
— Bees. — The  Toisini. — Yana. — Moso  Moso. — Mestiso  Quilaya. — Cani. — Quella 
and  Alframisqui. — The  Eyrobana. — Wax. — The  Cochineal. — Lassoing  a  Mule. — 
Price  of  Mules. — Launching  the  Boat. — A  Bivouac. — Arrival  at  Salvador. — 
Banks  of  the  Salado. — Birds. — Estancia  Figarra. — "Que  Animal." — Arrival  at 
Matara. — The  Dance  and  the  little  Child. — The  Priests. — Incursions  of  the 
Chaco  Indians. — List  of  Trees. — Quebracho. — Algorroba. — Vinal. — Quilin. — 
Chaiia.-Mistal.— Vinay.— Tola.— Puna.— Gumi.—Quimel.—Cardon 361 


Xiv  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  XXII. 

Bajada  Sause. — Women  pursued  by  Indians. — Laguna  Toma  Caphuyan. — Estancia 
Gramilla  Bracho. — A  Night's  Sleep  interrupted  by  the  Governor's  Troop  in  pur- 
suit of  Indians. — Fording  the  Lagoon. — The  Scouts  on  the  Trail. — Indians  in 
Sight. — The  White  Men  defied. — A  Charge. — Another  Pursuit. — Disappearance 
in  the  Forest. — Hunger,  Thirst,  and  a  sound  Sleep  in  the  Eain. — The  old  Es- 
tancieros.  —  Hostility  of  the  Indians. — Navicha. — Paso  Sandia. — Pastures. — 
Monte  Aquara. — Monte  Tigre. — Arrival  of  an  additional  Force. — Musquitoes 
and  Eain. — Farther  Advance  of  the  Party. — On  another  Trail. — Swimming  the 
River. — The  Volleys. — Indians. — The  would-be  Captive. — The  dying  Soldier. — 
The  Bullet  and  a  Cigar. — Mente  del  Muerta. — The  Current  running  up. — The 
Return Page  374 

CHAPTER  XXIII. 

Crossing  at  Paso  Mistol. — A  Cordon  of  Posts. — Paso  la  Torre. — A  Wild-goat 
Chase. — Navigation  of  the  Salado. — Seiiora  Mendez. — Sleep  in  the  Open  Air. — 
Reservoirs  of  Water. — Drought. — Arrival  at  Santiago. — A  Ball. — Toasts. — 
Fine  Dancing. — JRiver  Dulce. — Road  to  Tucuman. — Approach  the  Andes. — 
Woodland. — Rio  Tala. — Mountains. — Scenery. — Arrival  at  Tucuman. — Hotels 
in  La  Plata. — Dr.  Priestly. — Sugar-Plantation. — Molasses,  Sugar,  and  Rum  Es- 
tablishment.— Cultivation  of  the  Sugar-cane. — A  Dinner  at  Sefior  Zavalier's. — 
Seiiora  and  her  Daughters. — A  Ride  into  the  Country. — Scenery. — Dinner  and 
Ball  at  the  Governor's. — Beauty  of  Spanish- American  Women. — Province  of 
Tucuman. — The  Capital. — Progress. — Statistics. — Cultivation. — Start  for  Salta. 
— Valleys. — Productive  Capacity  of  the  Soil. — Wheat. — Mountain  Road. — Posta 
Romero. — The  foiled  Post-master. — Alimafia. — Grassy  Basin. — Destitute  Post- 
master.— Valley  Chiguano. — Upper  Waters  of  the  Salado. — Products  of  Valley 
Chiguano. — River  Rosario. — Ford  the  Arrias. — Arrive  at  Salta 394 

CHAPTER  XXIV. 

A  Night  at  a  Zambo. — Messrs.  Pelacio. — Acts  of  Courtesy. — Province  of  Salta. — 
Population. — Products. — Salinas. — The  Capital. — Advantages  of  Salado  Nav- 
igation.— Mules. — Leather  and  Wool. — Trees. — The  Pacaray. — Silk  Rolls. — 
Wheat. — Copper. — Governor. — Music  and  Dancing. — Exiled  Bolivians. — Revo- 
lutionary state  of  Bolivia. — Departure  from  Salta. — Tropas  of  Asses. — Lake 
Cabo. — Simbola. — Rivers  Pasaje  and  Las  Piedras. — Forests. — Little  Use  of  Milk 
in  La  Plata. — Forest  of  Sevil. — Don  Martin  Giiemes. — Breakfast  in  the  Forest. — 
Stage-coach. — Ferry-boats. — Beauty  of  Country. — Arrival  at  Tucuman. — Horse- 
back Travel. — Gaucho  Life. — Visit  from  the  Governor. — Map  of  the  Province  of 
Tucuman. — Farewell  to  Friends  in  Tucuman. — Day's  Ride. — Dulce  Boat. — San- 
tiago and  Reception  at  the  Governor's. — Head  Waters  of  the  Salado. — Laboring 
Classes  in  Santiago. — Hospitality  of  Spanish- Americans. — Harvest. — Narrow 
Escape. — Horses. — A  Cordova  Posta. — Fined  for  fast  Riding. — Leave  Cordova. 
— Return  Route  across  the  Pampas. — Galera  from  Rosario. — Diligcncia. — River 
Tcrcero. — Tropa  of  Mules  from  San  Juan. — River  Quarto. — Fording  the  Quarto. 
— Pop-corn  Party. — Division  Line  between  Cordova  and  Santa  Fe'. — Postillion. 
—  Growth  of  Rosario. — British  Consul. — Farther  Examinations  of  La  Plata 
Channels. — Preparations  for  Departure. — Letters  of  Recall. — Boatswain's  Call. 
— Germantown. — Lieutenant  Ridgely. — Home 412 


CONTENTS.  XV 

CHAPTER  XXV. 
Extent  of  Exploration. — Depth  of  Water  in  the  Paraguay. — Sources  of  that  River. 
— Junction  with  the  Parana. — The  Parana  River. — Tributaries  of  the  Paraguay. 
— The  Confuso  and  Otuquis. — Expeditions  up  and  down  the  Pilcomayo. — North- 
ern and  Southern  Branch. — Little  Success  at  its  Navigation. — The  Vermejo. — 
Its  Navigability  confirmed. — The  Salado. — "River  Bottom." — Falls  of  Apipe. 
— The  Gran  Salto. — The  River  above. — Islands  and  Rapids. — The  Uiniguay. — 
The  Salto  Grande. — Beauty  of  adjacent  Country. — La  Plata. — Its  Mouth  at  the 
Capes. — Structure  of  the  Parana  Banks. — Tosca. — Rock  Formation  on  the  Par- 
aguay.— Entrance  to  a  Mountain  Region. — The  Great  Gulf — Birth  of  Rivers. 
— Callera  do  Arriola. — Retirement  of  the  Sea. — Fossil  Remains  and*  Estuary 
Mud. — Diluvial  and  Alluvial  Periods. — Encroachments  of  Land  and  Water. — 
Harbor  of  Buenos  Ayres. — Fertility  of  Soil. — Fruits  and  Vegetation. — Medic- 
inal Plants  and  Woods. — Climate. — Navigation  of  the  Rivers. — Letter  fi-om  the 
Governor  of  Santiago. — Exclusive  Privileges  granted  to  Companies. — Suitable 
Vessels. — Paraguay. — Products  and  Advantages  for  Trade. — Interests  of  Boli- 
via.— Immigration. — Brossard. — Thiers  and  Guizot  upon  the  Country  of  La  Plata. 
— What  foreign  Governments  have  done. — What  our  Policy  should  be...  Page  431 

CHAPTER  XXVL 

First  Discovery  of  the  River  La  Plata  by  Solis. — Death  of  Solis. — Sebastian  Cabot. 
— First  Settlement  in  La  Plata. — Explorations  of  Cabot. — Indian  Hostilities. — 
Highway  to  El  Dorado. — Don  Diego  Garcia. — Cabot's  Dispatch  to  the  Emperor. 
— Pizarro. — Cabot  superseded. — Don  Pedro  de  Mendoza. — His  Expedition  to  La 
Plata. — Founding  of  Buenos  Ayi"es. — Hostility  of  the  Indians. — Attack  upon 
Buenos  Ayres. — Ayolas. — His  Expedition  up  the  River. — Death  of  Mendoza. — 
Destruction  of  the  Spaniards  under  Ayolas. — Don  Dominguez  Yrala. — Founding 
of  Asuncion. — Indian  Conspiracy. — The  Spaniards  and  the  Natives. — Don  Al- 
varo  Nunez  de  Vaca. — His  Journey  across  the  Continent. — Administration  of 
De  Vaca.  —  He  is  sent  back  to  Spain. — Yrala  appointed  Adelantado. — Asun- 
cion erected  into  a  Bishopric. — Disasters  of  the  first  Adventurers. — Successful 
Administration  of  Trala. — Commanderies. — Death  of  Yrala. — Zarate  and  Garay. 
— Victory  over  the  Indians. — First  export  Cargo. — Death  of  Garay. — Final  Con- 
quest of  La  Plata. — Separation  from  Paraguay 449 

CHAPTER  XXVIL 

Arrival  of  the  Jesuits  in  South  America. — A  pious  Fraud. — Early  Missionaries. — 
St.  Francis  Solano. — Chaco  Indians. — Fathers  Cataldino  and  Marcerata  proceed 
to  Guayra. — Foundation  of  Loreto. — St.  Ignatius,  St.  Thomas,  and  the  twelve 
Missions. — Establishment  and  Destruction  of  the  Uruguay  Reductions. — Mame- 
lucos  of  St.  Paul. — Persecutions  of  the  Indians. — Attack  upon  Guayra. — Retreat 
of  the  twelve  Thousand  to  the  Salto  Grande. — Descent  of  the  Falls. — Peace  at 
last. — Renewal  of  the  Uruguay  Reductions. — Bickerings  between  Ecclesiastics 
and  Laymen. — Retreat  of  another  twelve  thousand. — Fathers  De  Montoya  and 
Tano  are  dispatched  to  the  Continent :  their  Missions  are  crowned  with  Suc- 
cess.— Fire-arms  and  papal  Briefs. — Another  Attack  of  the  Mamelucos. — Battle 
of  Acaray. — ^Triumph  of  the  Reduction  Indians. — DonBernardin  de  Cardenas. — 
Excommunications. — Penitence  of  the  Governor. — Deposition  of  the  Bishop. — 
Return  to  Asuncion. — The  Dictator. — Cardenas  is  relieved  of  his  assumed  Au- 
thority and  retires  to  La  Plata. — Defeat  of  the  Mamelucos  and  Guaycurus. — 
Services  of  the  Reduction  Indians 465 


xvi  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  XXVIII. 

Fathers  placed  in  charge  of  the  Missions:  their  Duties  and  Power. — Opinions  and 
Researches  of  Azara. — Foundation  of  St.  Joachim  and  of  Belen. — Means  and 
Measures  adopted. — Jesuit  Reduction. — College. — Dispensary,  Gardens. — The 
Arsenal  and  Soldiery. — Sham-fights. — The  Church:  its  Splendor. — Music. — 
Attendance  at  Church  Service. — Fetes  and  Processions. — Clothing. — Schools. — 
Police  System. — Daily  Life. — Labor  in  the  Fields. — Christian  Republic. — Social 
Equality. — Mercantile  Restrictions. — God's  Inheritance Page  493 

CHAPTER  XXIX. 

Tarija  Missions. — Failures. — Confided  to  Franciscan  Friars. — Spanish  Settlement 
in  the  Province  of  Chiquitos. — Foundation  and  Removal  of  Santa  Cruz  Missions. 
— First  Establishment  by  Father  Arce'. — Successive  Reductions. — Native  Of- 
ficials.— Jesuit  System. — Abipones. — Concepcion  and  the  Rosary. — Dobrizhoffer. 
— Voyage  along  the  Coast  of  Patagonia. — Patagonia  Missions. — Revolt  of  In- 
dians.— Cangapol 506 

CHAPTER  XXX. 

Stability  of  the  Christian  Church. — Contest  for  the  Governorship  of  Asuncion. — 
Antequera. — Expulsion  of  the  Jesuits. — Defeat  of  Don  Balthazar  Garcia  Rosas. — 
Zavala. — Flight  of  Antequera,  his  Arrest  and  Execution. — Appointment  of  Don 
John  de  Barua. — Return  of  the  Jesuits. — Rebellion  in  Paraguay. — Communeros 
and  Contrabandos. — A  President. — Another  Expulsion  of  the  Jesuits. — Don  Man- 
uel de  Ruiloba,  Governor  of  Asuncion. — A  Defender. — Zavala  enters  Asuncion. 
— Contest  at  the  Court  of  Madrid. — Triumph  of  the  Jesuits. — Their  exclusive 
Policy. — Suspicions  revived. — The  Contest  renewed. — Sebastian  Carvalho,  Mar- 
quis of  Pombal. — The  boundary  Line. — Attempt  to  assassinate  King  Joseph. — 
Expulsion  of  the  Order  from  Portugal  and  France. — Squillaci. — Charles  III. — 
Aranda. — The  Jesuits  driven  from  Spain. — A  Cruise  at  Sea. — Final  Landing  at 
"Corsica. — Letter  of  the  Pope. — Bucareli. — Viceroy  of  Buenos  Ayres,  his  Mes- 
sengers and  Dispatches. — Plans  thwarted. — Sudden  Arrest  of  the  Fathers. — 
Destruction  of  the  Cordova  Library. — Memorial  of  the  Indians  in  behalf  of  the 
Order. — Alarms  of  the  Viceroy. — Expedition  against  the  Parana  and  Uruguay 
Reductions. — The  Fathers  shipped  for  Europe. — Fate  of  the  Missions 526 

CHAPTER  XXXI. 
False  Policy  of  Spain  toward  the  Colonies. — Treaty  of  Utrecht. — Foundation  of 
Montevideo. — Contrabandists. — Treaty  of  1750. — Viceroyalty  of  Buenos  Ayres. 
— Treaty  of  St.  Ildefonso. — Final  Concessions  of  the  Mother  Country. — Expedi- 
tion nnder  Sir  Home  Popham. — Capture  of  Buenos  Ayres. — Assault  of  Monte- 
video.— Defeat  of  General  Whitelock. — Liniers. — Joseph  Bonaparte. — A  Portu- 
guese Pretender. — Cisneros. — Assembly  of  July  9th,  1816. — Independence  of 
Paraguay,  Bolivia,  and  Buenos  Ayres.  —  Disadvantages  the  South  American 
People  labored  under  for  forming  a  good  Government. — The  Banda  Oriental. — 
Urquiza. — Oribe. — Battle  of  Monte  Caseros. — Convention  at  St.  Nicolas. — 
Courtesy  extended  to  our  Minister. — Disaffection  of  Buenos  Ayres. — Siege  of 
that  City 552 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


PAGE 

Map  of  the  Basin  of  La  Plata at  the  end  of  the  volume. 

The  Steamer  Water  Witch Frontispiece. 

Montevideo,  from  the  Fort  on  the  Mountain , 33 

Portrait  of  President  Urquiza 41 

-Marking  Cattle 54 

San  Jose,  the  Estancia  of  Urquiza 56 

The  Galera 58 

College  of  Concepcion 60 

Corrientes — Upper  End 102 

Corrientes — Lower  End 102 

Use  of  the  Lasso  and  Bolas 112 

Portrait  of  President  Lopez 117 

Asuncion — First  View 121 

Asuncion — Second  View 121 

The  Cabildo,  Asuncion 123 

The  Cathedral,  Asuncion 124 

Curing  Yerba I37 

Meeting  Indians  on  the  Chaco 149 

Termination  of  Spur  of  Ytapucu  Gazo 153 

Pan  de  Azucar 163 

Fort  Bourbon,  or  Olimpo 168 

Fort  Coimbra 178 

Saddle-shaped  Mountain 185 

Corumba 187 

Plaza  of  Albuquerque 189 

Lengua  Indians  at  Salvador 197 

Portrait  of  Francia,  the  Dictator 202 

Costumes  of  the  Interior 209 

Dinner  at  the  Puerta  del  Estado 214 

Crossing  the  Taquari 219 

Mate  and  Bombilla 227 

Supper  at  San  Martin 230 

Steamer  Pilcomayo  and  Paraguay  Guardia 246 

Indians  fishing  in  the  Vermejo 252 

Passing  the  Guardia  Tres  Bocas 278 

Attack  upon  the  Water  Witch 306 

Chart  of  the  Mouth  of  the  Parana 309 

Shooting  a  Jaguar 341 

Tropa  of  Carretas  encamped 357 

Pursuit  of  the  Indians 379 

Attack  at  the  Paso  Mistol 390 

A  Gaucho 396 

An  Estanciero 420 

Sierra  Siete  Punto 438 

Portrait  of  Ignntius  Loyola 465 

Diagrams  of  Observations 605-6 

2 


INTRODUCTION. 


There  are  circumstances  connected  with  the  origin  and  organ- 
ization of  the  "La  Plata  Expedition"  which  may  be  interesting 
to  the  reader,  as  an  Introduction  to  the  Narrative  of  the  Expe- 
dition. 

In  the  year  1851  I  returned  from  a  cruise  on  the  East  India 
Station,  having  spent  the  greater  portion  of  three  years  in  the 
Chinese  waters.  While  in  the  neighborhood  of  Canton  I  often 
enjoyed  the  society  and  conversation  of  my  friend,  Mr.  E.  B. 
Forbes,  at  that  time  the  head  of  the  house  of  Russell  and  Com- 
pany, whose  experience  in  the  navigation  of  the  Chinese  seas  had 
made  him  aware  of  the  great  defects  of  our  best  charts  of  those 
waters.  One  day,  while  seated  in  his  veranda  at  Macao,  indulg- 
ing in  a  Manilla  cheroot,  and  admiring  the  scenery  around  the 
harbor,  he  remarked  that,  considering  the  importance  and  value 
of  our  trade  with  China,  we  needed  more  accurate  surveys  to 
point  out  the  dangers  that  beset  the  navigator  at  every  league  in 
those  waters. 

I  was  impressed  by  the  suggestion,  and  replied  that  I  would 
gladly  undertake  the  work,  under  the  orders  of  government.  It 
was  agreed  that,  upon  our  return  home,  we  should  make  a  joint 
effort  to  induce  the  government  to  carry  our  views  into  effect. 
The  importance  of  the  subject  was  perceived  by  Congress  and  the 
Navy  Department;  and  when  it  became  evident  that  the  project 
was  to  be  carried  out,  I  was  informed  by  Mr.  Graham,  then  Sec- 
retary of  the  Navy,  that  I  was  to  be  intrusted  with  the  execution 
of  the  survey. 

I  thereupon,  after  consultation  with  Mr.  Forbes,  presented  to 
Congress  a  statement  as  to  the  number  and  kind  of  vessels  re- 
quired, and  the  amount  needed  for  their  construction.  A  pro- 
peller and  two  schooners  were  recommended,  and  the  appropria- 
tion was  made,  in  accordance  with  my  estimates. 

A  change  took  place  in  the  Navy  Department.  Mr.  Graham 
resigned,  and  Mr.  Kennedy  was  appointed  Secretary  of  the  Navy. 


XX 


INTRODUCTION. 


Meanwhile  the  "  China  Sea  and  Behring's  Strait  Survey"*  was 
expanded  from  its  original  unpretending  design  into  an  expedi- 
tion upon  a  large  scale  for  the  investigation  of  every  branch  of 
natural  science,  involving  the  employment  of  a  squadron  of  five 
vessels,  with  a  sloop  of  war  as  "flag-ship,"  and  a  corps  of  scientific 
persons. 

My  position  on  the  Naval  Eegister  was  that  of  lieutenant. 
This  was  urged  as  a  bar  against  my  appointment  to  this  impor- 
tant command,  which  was  accordingly  assigned  to  one  of  higher 
rank — a  commander.  I  was  somewhat  annoyed  that  my  bantling- 
had  grown  entirely  beyond  my  control,  and  asked  to  be  excused 
from  occupying  the  position  of  second  in  command,  which  was 
tendered  to  me  by  the  Secretary.  In  doing  this,  I  made  known 
my  agency  in  originating  and  prosecuting  the  measure. 

A  few  days  after,  I  was  offered  the  command  of  an  expedition 
for  the  exploration  and  survey  of  the  Eio  de  la  Plata  and  its 
tributaries.  The  same  day's  mail  brought  me  another  offer  of 
service,  made  through  the  influence  of  friends,  and  highly  flatter- 
ing to  me  personally  and  professionally.     I  accepted  the  former. 

Congress  made  no  special  appropriation  for  this  work.  To  Mr. 
Fillmore,  then  President,  and  to  Mr.  Kennedy,  the  Secretarj^ 
of  the  Navy,  belongs  the  credit  of  assigning  this  particular  duty 
to  the  Water  "Witch,  as  one  of  the  vessels  of  the  squadron  on  the 
coast  of  Brazil.  She  was  of&cered,  manned,  and  equipped  in  the 
usual  manner  of  vessels  of  her  class,  with  the  exception  that  her 
armament  was  changed  to  three  bronze  howitzers.  She  was  also 
furnished  with  a  few  astronomical  instruments,  and  a  small  pro- 
vision of  materials  for  the  collection  and  preservation  of  speci- 
mens in  Natural  History. 

The  explorations,  a  narrative  of  which  is  contained  in  the  fol- 
lowing pages,  embraced  an  extent  of  about  three  thousand  six 
hundred  miles  by  water,  and  of  four  thousand  four  hundred  miles 
by  land  through  Paraguay  and  the  Argentine  Confederation.  In 
connection  with  the  other  duties  assigned  to  me  by  my  instruc- 
tions, I  was  intrusted  with  diplomatic  powers  to  negotiate  a  treaty 
of  friendship  and  commerce  with  the  government  of  Paraguay. 
Although  no  naturalist  accompanied  the  expedition,  the  letters 

■ 

*  The  Behring's  Strait  clause  was  an  addition  suggested  hy  the  intelligent  Su- 
perintendent of  the  National  Observatory,  whose  investigations  into  the  various 
whaling  regions  of  the  globe  had  led  him  to  see  the  defects  of  our  charts  of  that 
region. 


INTRODUCTION.  Xxi 

and  reports  of  scientific  men,  to  whose  inspection  some  of  tlie  col- 
lections have  been  submitted,  will  show  to  what  extent  my  in- 
structions in  this  respect  have  been  carried  out. 

When  I  presented  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  my  "  Eeport 
of  the  Exploration  and  Survey  of  the  River  La  Plata  and  its  Trib- 
utaries," I  anticipated  making  one  more  full  and  copious  at  a  sub- 
sequent period.  The  Secretary,  however,  expressed  himself  sat- 
sfied  with  that  document ;  but  I  was  not.  I  found  that  a  desire 
had  been  awakened  for  a  knowledge  of  that  country  which  could 
not  be  comprised  within  the  limits  of  a  preliminary  report.  This 
having  been  published  in  some  of  the  leading  journals  of  this 
country  and  of  Europe,  I  received  many  letters  asking  "  for  more 
detailed  information  respecting  that  section  of  South  America." 
But  for  these  inquiries,  I  believe  I  should  have  shrunk  from  the 
task  of  preparing  a  work  for  publication  during  my  only  hours  of 
leisure  after  discharging  the  duties  of  "  an  office  for  the  construc- 
tion of  charts  of  the  La  Plata  Expedition,"  and  amid  other  inter- 
ruptions of  an  official  character.  But  my  journals  contained  am- 
ple materials  for  a  book,  and  it  seemed  more  easy  to  arrange  this 
material  into  a  narrative  of  the  expedition,  than  to  answer  the  nu- 
merous letters  which  continued  to  pour  in  upon  me.  Accompa- 
nying the  narrative  are  a  few  chapters  giving  an  outline  sketch 
of  the  history  of  La  Plata,  and  an  account  of  the  Jesuit  missions 
in  the  country. 

In  presenting  this  volume  to  the  public,  I  can  claim  for  it  no 
special  consideration  on  the  ground  of  artistic  arrangement  or  lit- 
erary merit.  For  its  favorable  reception  I  rely  mainly  upon  the 
importance  of  the  matters  of  which  it  treats. 

To  the  Smithsonian  Institute  I  am  indebted  for  aid  in  provid- 
ing the  means  necessary  for  the  collection  and  preservation  of 
specimens  in  Natural  History,  and  for  valuable  information  as  to 
their  application.  Also  to  M.  F.  Maury,  U.  S.  N.,  Superintend- 
ent of  the  Naval  Observatory,  for  the  selection  of  instruments,  and 
for  valuable  suggestions  in  the  prosecution  of  several  important 
portions  of  our  work.  Special  thanks  are  also  due  to  Mr.  George 
W.  Blunt,  of  New  York,  and  Mr.  R.  B.  Forbes,  of  Boston,  men 
who  are  always  prompt  in  the  advocacy  and  support  of  all  meas- 
ures having  for  their  object  the  extension  of  the  bounds  of  science 
and  of  commerce ;  to  the  officers  attached  to  the  expedition,  who 
labored  with  intelligence  and  energy  until  its  results  were  embod- 
ied in  well-executed  charts ;  and  to  Lieutenant  H.  N.  Harrison, 


xxii  INTRODUCTION. 

who,  in  connection  with,  other  office  duties,  reduced  the  meteoro- 
logical observations  presented  in  the  Appendix.  The  American 
Greographical  and  Statistical  Society  took  an  early  interest  in  the 
exploration  of  the  Eiver  La  Plata.  At  a  meeting  held  May  11th, 
1852,  a  memorial  upon  this  subject,  prepared  by  S.  De  Witt 
Bloodgood,  Esq.,  was  adopted,  and  ordered  to  be  transmitted  to 
the  Secretary  of  the  Navy.    This  will  be  found  in  the  Appendix.* 

Fully  impressed  with  the  importance,  commercially  as  well  as 
scientifically,  of  extending  the  examination,  already  so  successful- 
ly carried  on,  into  the  principal  tributaries  of  the  central  waters  of 
La  Plata,  which  neither  time  nor  events  permitted  during  the  late 
exploration,  I  set  to  work,  after  my  return  home,  immediately  on 
the  meeting  of  Congress,  and,  through  the  interest  taken  in  the 
matter  by  the  able  Senator  from  Louisiana,  Mr.  Benjamin,  pro- 
cured the  passage  of  an  act  appropriating  a  small  sum  for  the  far- 
ther prosecution  of  my  late  work.  Under  a  contract  with  the 
N"avy  Department,  a  suitable  iron  steamer  was  built  by  Mr.  K.  B. 
Forbes  of  Boston,  and  chartered  to  the  government.  Although 
of  small  dimensions — length  98  feet,  beam  16,  and  draught  4 — she 
was  taken  out  to  Montevideo  under  sail,  rigged  as  a  "  three-mast- 
ed schooner,"  and  arrived  safely  early  in  the  month  of  March  of 
the  present  year  (1858),  after  a  passage  of  about  70  days.  The 
officers  associated  with  me  in  this  expedition  sailed  in  February, 
and  arrived  out  in  time  to  receive  the  little  steamer,  which  I  have 
named  Argentma. 

My  duties  in  connection  with  the  construction  of  the  charts  of 
the  previous  expedition  claimed  my  attention  at  this  time,  and, 
before  their  completion,  my  services  having  been  required  by  the 
Navy  Department  in  the  organization  of  the  force  designed  to  op- 
erate against  Paraguay  in  the  demand  for  redress  against  that  gov- 
ernment, I  was  detained  by  order  of  the  Secretary  for  this  duty. 

The  position  assigned  me — under  the  gallant  senior  officer  of 
the  navy,  Wm.  B.  Shubrick,  flag-officer — as  Captain  of  the  Fleet 
of  the  Brazil  Squadron  and  Paraguay  Expedition,  will  enable  me 
to  apply  my  best  energies  to  the  accomplishment  of  the  great  ob- 
jects in  view ;  and  when  these  shall  have  been  obtained,  I  look 
with  sanguine  hope  to  the  final  completion  of  that  not  less  impor- 
tant work,  the  continuation  of  the  exploration  of  the  tributaries  of 

La  Plata. 
Washington,  October,  1858. 

*  See  Appendix  I. 


LA  PLATA, 


THB 


ARGENTINE  CONFEDERATION, 


AKD 


PARAGUAY. 


LA    PLATA. 


CHAPTER  L 

Urquiza's  Decree,  opening  the  Waters  of  La  Plata. — The  Expedition. — Its  Ob- 
jects.— The  Water  Witch. — Her  Sea  Qualities. — The  Voyage. — Arrival  at  Rio 
de  Janeiro. — Correspondence  with  the  Government. — Permission  granted  to  as- 
cend to  Albuquerque. — Further  Extension  of  this  Privilege. — Pamperos. — The 
Morgan  Wheel. — French  Charts. — Arrival  at  Montevideo. — Quarantine. — Yel- 
low Fever. — Montevideo. — Its  Trade  and  Population. — Colonel  Paunero. 

The  historical  chapters  appended  to  this  narrative  will  present 
a  detailed  account  of  the  political  affairs  of  the  countries  adjacent 
to  the  River  La  Plata.  At  present  it  is  only  necessary  to  premise 
that  in  the  movement  against  Oribe,  Urquiza  and  the  Emperor  of 
Brazil  had  in  view  one  great  object — the  opening  of  the  river 
communications  of  La  Plata  to  commerce.  After  the  deferjt  and 
flight  of  Rosas,  and  the  election  of  Urquiza  as  Provisional  Direct- 
or of  the  Argentine  Confederation,  one  of  the  first  measures  of  his 
administration  was  a  decree,  issued  August  28th,  1852,  declaring 
the  navigation  of  the  rivers  of  the  Confederation  free  to  all  flags, 
the  decree  to  take  effect  the  1st  of  October  of  the  same  year.  The 
seal  of  many  navigable  waters,  offering  communication  with  the 
Atlantic  to  a  region  of  country  embracing  not  less  than  800,000 
square  miles,  was  thus  broken.  A  vast  territory  was  not  only 
opened  to  commerce,  but  the  most  liberal  inducements  were  given 
to  immigration.  Results,  even  at  this  early  period,  attest  the  sa- 
gacity of  Urquiza,  and  foreshadow  the  prosperity  to  which  that 
portion  of  South  America  will  attain  under  his  enlightened  ad- 
ministration. 

The  government  of  the  United  States  was  the  first  to  avail  it- 
self of  the  opportunity  thus  offered  to  all  maritime  nations  to  ob- 
tain a  more  extended  knowledge  of  La  Plata.  An  expedition 
charged  to  explore  its  rivers,  and  to  report  upon  the  extent  of 
their  navigability  and  adaptation  to  commerce,  was  placed  under 
my  command  in  February,  1853. 


26  THE  WATER  WITCH. 

These  were  its  first  objects ;  but  my  instructions  covered  a 
much,  wider  field.  I  was  ordered  to  penetrate  into  the  interior  of 
the  countries  of  La  Plata,  to  examine  their  agricultural  resources, 
and  to  make  such  collections  in  Natural  History  as  the  means  at 
my  disposal  would  permit.*  In  addition  to  this  service,  I  was 
honored  by  the  President,  Mr.  Fillmore,  with  a  commission  to 
negotiate  individually,  or  jointly  with  Messrs.  Schenck  and  Pen- 
dleton, our  ministers  to  Brazil  and  the  Argentine  Confederation, 
a  treaty  of  commerce  and  navigation  with  the  Republic  of  Para- 
guay :  an  honor  I  highly  appreciated,  for  it  was  entirely  unsolic- 
ited. 

The  Water  Witch,  a  steamer  of  four  hundred  tons  and  nine 
feet  draught,  was  placed  under  my  command  to  carry  out  these 
instructions.  She  was  not  altogether  adapted  to  the  work  of  the 
expedition,  but  was  better  suited  to  it  than  any  other  vessel  then 
at  the  disposal  of  the  Navy  Department.  She  was,  in  some  meas- 
ure, an  experiment  ship,  to  test  the  adaptation  of  the  "  Morgan 
wheel"  to  steamers,  an  experiment  which  caused  delay  and  em- 
barrassment throughout  the  prosecution  of  the  work.  The  oper- 
ations of  the  expedition  were  circumscribed  by  graver  obstacles, 
to  which  I  shall  allude  in  the  course  of  my  narrative.  It  never- 
theless embraced  a  river  and  land  exploration  of  a  little  more  than 
nine  thousand  miles  in  a  country  almost  unknown,  and  established 
the  navigability  of  waters  of  which  the  natives  themselves  were 
ignorant. 

Owing  to  the  peculiar  construction  of  the  wheels  of  the  Water 
Witch,  we  found  it  impracticable,  even  with  the  most  favorable 
wind,  to  dispense  with  steam ;  consequently,  our  course  was  so 
shaped  as  to  render  accessible,  at  short  intervals,  those  ports 
known  to  be  depositories  of  coal.  We  touched  at  the  island  of 
St.  Thomas,  at  Demarara,  English  Guiana,  Cayenne,  French  Guia- 
na, Maranham,  Pernambuco,  and  Rio  de  Janeiro. 

At  Maranham  it  became  necessary  to  raise  the  shaft  "into 
line,"  it  having  sunk  to  such  a  degree  as  to  affect  the  movements 
of  the  engine  very  sensibly.  The  weight  of  the  wheels,  twenty- 
four  tons,  added  to  that  of  the  shaft,  rendered  this  a  somewhat  dif- 
ficult operation  with  the  limited  means  to  be  found  on  board  a 
vessel  of  the  size  of  the  Water  Witch.  Necessity  seldom  fails  to 
quicken  one's  ingenuity,  and,  fortunately,  we  discovered  a  way  of 
repairing  the  defect. 

*  See  Appendix  A. 


DIPLOMATIC  CORRESPONDENCE.  27 

A  large  lighter — an  open,  flat-bottomed  boat  of  the  capacity  of 
twenty-five  tons — was  secured  abreast  of  one  of  the  wheels,  and 
filled  with  water.  Two  pieces  of  hard,  strong  timber,  laid  trans- 
versely across  the  lighter,  passing  under  the  centres  and  be- 
tween the  arms  of  the  wheel,  and  resting  on  the  "  outboard  sheer 
plank"  of  the  steamer,  were  there  lashed.  They  were  secured  in 
the  same  manner  to  the  centres  and  arms,  and  the  intermediate 
spaces  filled  in  with  hard  wood,  thus  forming  a  solid  mass  of  tim- 
ber. The  water  was  then  pumped  out  of  the  lighter,  which,  nat- 
urally rising  from  its  almost  submerged  state,  raised  the  wheel  and 
shaft  sufficiently  to  admit  the  insertion  beneath  the  "  outer  pillar 
block"  of  a  plate  of  sheet  iron,  by  which  it  was  brought  in  place. 
The  same  means  were  used  in  raising  the  opposite  end  of  the 
shaft. 

Having  remedied  this  derangement,  and  received  on  board  a 
supply  of  coal,  we  sailed  for  Eio  Janeiro,  touching  at  Pernambuco 
on  our  way. 

For  a  successful  and  complete  exploration  of  the  Paraguay  and 
Parana  Elvers,  it  was  necessary  to  obtain  from  the  Emperor  of 
Brazil  permission  to  enter  that  part  of  his  empire  bordering  on 
these  waters.  In  the  absence  of  our  minister,  Mr.  Schenck,  I  ad- 
dressed a  note  to  Mr.  Ferdinand  Coxe,  Secretary  of  Legation,  re- 
questing him  to  present  the  subject  to  the  Emperor,  and  solicit  his 
favorable  consideration  of  the  work,  so  far,  at  least,  as  to  insure  to 
it  the  exploration  of  those  tributaries  of  the  Eiver  La  Plata  over 
which  the  imperial  government  exercised  exclusive  jurisdiction. 
The  following  correspondence  between  our  minister,  his  secretary 
of  legation,  and  the  minister  of  foreign  affairs,  will  show  the 
grounds  upon  which  this  request  was  made,  and  those  which  in- 
fluenced the  Brazilian  government  in  declining  to  accede  to  it. 

"  United  States  Steamer  Water  "Witch,  ) 
Rio  de  Janeiro,  April  2(ith,  1853.  ) 
"  Sir, — The  expedition  on  which  the  Water  Witch  has  been  ordered  by 
the  President  of  the  United  States,  having  purely  for  its  object  the  ad- 
vancement of  commerce  and  promotion  of  science — objects  interesting  to  all 
civilized  nations,  but  more  especially  to  those  on  whose  borders  or  in  whose 
territories  its  operations  may  extend,  I  wish,  through  the  legation  of  the 
United  States,  to  call  tjie  attention  of  the  Brazilian  government  to  this  ex- 
pedition, with  the  hope  that,  through  its  enlightened  policy,  it  may  be  dis- 
posed to  forward  the  work  with  which  T  am  intrasted,  whensoever  its  opera- 
tions may  border  upon  or  extend  into  the  territory  of  Brazil. 


-28  DIPLOMATIC  CORRESPONDENCE. 

"  Facilities  might  be  afforded  and  difficulties  removed  by  the  simple  act 
of  approval  and  commendation  on  the  part  of  Brazil,  of  which  her  frontier 
and  inland  posts  could  be  notified  in  advance  of  the  expedition. 

"  You  are  too  well  aware  of  the  good  likely  to  result  from  the  work  we 
have  in  hand  to  require  any  argument  from  me.  I  therefore  leave  the  mat- 
ter in  your  keeping,  with  the  hope  that  your  efforts  to  advance  the  aim  and 
object  I  have  in  view  may  succeed  to  our  entire  satisfaction. 

"THOMAS  J.  PAGE,  Lieutenant  Commanding. 

"Mr.  Feedinand  Cope,  Secretary  of  Legation." 

"Legation  of  the  United  States,      ") 
Rio  de  Janeiro,  April  2Gth,  ISHS.) 

*'  Sir, — In  the  absence  of  Mr.  Schenck,  I  have  the  honor  to  inclose  to  your 
excellency  a  copy  of  a  letter  just  received  from  Lieutenant  Thomas  J.  Page, 
commanding  the  United  States  Steamer  Water  Witch  now  in  this  port. 
This  officer  has  been  ordered  by  the  President  of  the  United  States  upon 
the  highly  interesting  and  important  duty  of  exploring  and  surveying  all  the 
rivers  running  into  the  Kiver  La  Plata,  and  it  is  not  doubted  that  the  re- 
sults of  the  expedition  will  be  of  the  highest  import;^, nee  to  the  commercial 
and  scientific  world,  and  that  Brazil,  as  bordering  upon,  and  at  some  points 
entirely  inclosing  the  rivers  it  is  proposed  to  ascend,  wiU  not  be  the  nation 
least  benefited  by  the  operations  of  the  expedition. 

"  Your  excellency  will  perceive,  from  Lieutenant  Page's  letter,  that  he 
asks  from  the  imperial  government  such  assistance  in  the  object  he  has  in 
view  as  may  be  given  by  orders  of  friendly  co-operation  to  the  imperial  of- 
ficers and  agents  he  may  meet  when  his  operations  may  border  upon  or  ex- 
tend into  the  territory  of  Brazil. 

"  Your  excellency  knows  too  well  what  these  orders  should  be,  and  to 
whom  they  should  be  given,  for  me  to  do  moi'e  than  communicate  Lieuten- 
ant Page's  request,  as  I  am  confident  that  the  enlightened  views  of  your 
excellency  will  lead  you  to  further  the  aim  and  object  of  the  expedition  by 
all  the  means  in  your  excellency's  power. 

"  The  Water  Witch  will  leave  here  for  Montevideo  and  Buenos  Ayres  on 
the  ;50th  instant,  and  I  will  have  much  pleasm-e  in  forwarding  any  com- 
munication which  your  excellency  may  desire  to  send  to  those  points ;  and 
I  avail  myself  of  the  occasion  to  renew  to  your  excellency  the  assm'ance  of 
my  high  respect  and  distinguished  consideration. 

"FERDINAND  COXE,  Secretary  of  Legation. 
"To  H.  E.  Paulino  Jose  Scares  de  Souza,  of  tlie  Council  of  H.  M.  the 
Emperor,  Minister  and  Secretaiy  of  State  for  Foreign  Affairs. 

[Translation.] 

"Foreign  Office,  Rio  dc  Janeiro,  May  4th,  1853. 
"  I  received,  after  some  delay,  the  note  which,  in  the  absence  of  Mr. 
Schenck,  was  addressed  me  by  Mr.  Ferdinand  Coxe,  Secretary  of  Legation, 


BRAZILIAN  POLICY.  29 

under  date  of  the  26th  of  April  last,  inclosing  a  copy  of  a  letter  he  had  re- 
ceived from  Lieutenant  Thomas  J.  Page,  who,  having  been  charged  with 
the  duty  of  exploring  the  different  rivers,  affluents  to  '  La  Plata,'  asked  from 
the  imperial  government  all  the  assistance  in  its  power,  by  means  of  orders 
and  recommendations  for  a  friendly  co-operation  on  the  part  of  the  respect- 
ive authorities  of  the  empire.  In  reply,  I  have  to  say  to  Mr.  Coxe  that  the 
imperial  government,  having  opened  to  foreign  conamerce,  in  the  River  Para- 
guay, the  port'  of  Albuquerque,  it  makes  no  objection  to  Lieutenant  Page 
canying  his  explorations  to  that  point,  and  will  send  the  necessary  orders 
to  the  President  of  Matto  Grosso,  and  other  imperial  agents,  that  they  may 
give  to  Lieutenant  Page  all  co-operation  in  their  power  ;  but  the  imperial 
government,  not  having  yet  opened  to  foreign  nations  other  ports  above  Al- 
buquerque, and  not  having  yet  agi'eed  as  to  the  navigation  of  these  interior 
rivers  with  the  nations  on  their  banks  [^nacoes  inberinhas^,  it  can  not  per- 
mit foreign  vessels  to  enter  them,  and  thus  establish  an  example  and  prec- 
edent which  might  be  prejudicial  to  the  empire,  as  the  right  to  the  navi- 
gation of  these  rivers  has  not  been  settled. 

"  I  avail  myself  of  this  occasion  to  offer  to  Mr.  Coxe  the  assurance  of  my 
esteem  and  consideration. 

"PAULINO  JOSJS  SOARES  DE  SOUZA. 
"Mr.  Ferdinand  Coxe,  Secretary  of  Legation.'^ 

It  will  be  observed  that  this  refusal  was  not  absolute,  but  that 
permission  was  given  for  tlie  Water  Witch  to  ascend  the  Para- 
guay as  high  as  Albuquerque,  a  town  some  distance  within  the 
territorial  limit  claimed  by  Brazil.  On  our  arrival  at  Coimbra, 
the  first  imperial  military  post  on  the  Paraguay,  I  was  informed 
that  the  privilege  of  ascending  the  river  had  been  extended  to 
Corumba,  a  small  post  about  sixty  miles  above  Albuquerque. 

Permission  was,  however,  subsequently  granted  to  extend  the 
work  throughout  the  Paraguay,  and  to  any  of  its  tributaries  with- 
in the  empire.  It  is  a  source  of  deep  regret  that  this  was  received 
when  circumstances  beyond  my  control  rendered  it  entirely  im- 
possible for  me  to  act  upon  it.  An  arbitrary  decree  of  the  Presi- 
dent of  Paraguay  forced  me  to  abandon  the  exploration  of  the 
higher  waters  of  the  Parana  and  Paraguay,  with  their  western  and 
eastern  tributaries,  at  the  moment  that  our  labors  had  reached  the 
most  interesting  point.  The  events  which  led  to  this  decree  will 
be  given  in  another  chapter  of  this  work. 

The  able  advocacy  of  our  minister  to  Brazil,  Mr.  Schenck, 
followed  by  that  of  Mr.  Trousdale,  doubtless  brought  about  this 
change  in  the  policy  of  the  imperial  government.*     I  was  unwill- 

*  See  Appendix  B. 


30  A  PAMPERO. 

ing  to  believe  tliat  it  was  tlie  fixed  determination  of  Brazil  to  keep 
closed  water-courses  whose  navigability,  once  established,  would 
bring  into  easy  communication  with  the  Atlantic  some  of  the 
lichest  of  her  northwestern  provinces.  I  had  confidence,  too,  in 
the  reputation  for  learning  and  appreciation  of  science  which  dis- 
tinguished his  imperial  majesty,  and  therefore  sought  the  earliest 
opportunity,  by  correspondence  with  our  minister  at  Rio  de  Janei- 
ro, to  bring  the  subject  before  him  again. 

An  appropriate  occasion  seemed  to  offer  itself  in  the  change  of 
our  representation  at  that  court.  Mr.  Trousdale,  who  succeeded 
Mr.  Schenck,  renewed  the  application,  urging  the  same  arguments 
that  had  been  set  forth  by  his  predecessor.  The  request  was 
granted ;  and  although,  as  I  have  stated,  I  was  unable  to  avail 
myself  of  it,  the  concession  proves  the  enlightened  views  of  the 
emperor  for  the  promotion  of  science. 

We  remained  in  the  harbor  of  Rio  long  enough  to  receive  on 
board  such  quantities  of  coal  and  provisions  as  the  capacity  of  our 
steamer  would  allow.  It  was  important  to  enter  the  Parana  with 
as  full  a  supply  as  possible ;  and  with  the  hope  of  slipping  into 
"  La  Plata"  in  the  interval  of  those  prevailing  gales  called  "  pam- 
peros," which  blow  at  times  with  great  violence,  I  had  burdened 
the  little  craft  somewhat  beyond  the  draught  designed  in  her  con- 
struction. This  brought  her  rail  nearer  the  water's  edge  than 
would  be  desirable,  should  she  have  to  contend  with  a  "pampero," 
As  we  approached  the  latitude  of  those  winds,  her  qualities  as  a 
"sea-boat"  were  fully  tested;  for  she  encountered  one  of  these 
gales,  as  if  it  had  been  intended  that  she  should  prove  false 
the  various  knowing  predictions  made  previously  to  her  sailing 
from  the  United  States,  that  she  would  "never  reach  her  desti- 
nation." 

These  winds,  coming  from  the  Andes,  sweep  over  the  pampas 
unobstructed,  and  break  upon  the  coasts  with  the  terrific  force  of 
hurricanes. 

The  waves  broke  over  the  "Water  Witch  like  a  cataract,  first  over 
the  bows,  then  over  the  stern,  the  water  finding  an  outlet  through 
the  ports ;  she,  notwithstanding,  struggled  through  them  with  an 
even  movement  of  the  engine,  which  made  evident  the  superi- 
ority of  the  Morgan  "action"  over  that  of  the  common  "radial 
wheel"  for  sea-steamers.  Although  at  times  nearly  submerged  to 
its  centre,  the  vertical  entry  of  its  buckets  into  the  water  enabled 
it  to  move  with  uniformity,  and  without  derangement  or  strain  to 


THE  MORGAN  WHEEL.  31 

the  macliinery.  The  principle  is  undoubtedly  a  good  one ;  and, 
with  some  few  changes  in  its  application  (as  made  to  the  Water 
Witch)  which  experience  pointed  out  as  important,  it  could  be 
made  much  more  effective. 

The  question  may  nevertheless  be  asked,  Are  not  the  advant- 
ages of  the  vertical  over  the  diagonal  action  counterbalanced  by 
the  liability  of  the  former  to  derangement  in  the  constant  abra- 
sion of  the  bushings  and  casings  peculiar  to  its  eccentric  arrange- 
ment ?  As  it  was  an  experiment  in  our  service,  we  were  not  pro- 
vided with  the  means  of  immediate  remedy  for  every  case,  which 
caused,  as  I  have  before  stated,  delay  and  embarrassment.  Expe- 
rience proved  that  the  abrasion  was  tenfold  greater  in  rivers  than 
in  the  ocean,  caused  doubtless  by  the  earthy  matter  afloat  in  fresh 
water.  With  a  change  of  the  eccentric  from  the  guard  (the  posi- 
tion of  it  on  board  the  Water  Witch)  to  the  shaft,*  where  any  ir- 
regular movement  in  the  latter  would  be  common  to  both,  and  a 
substitution  of  steel  for  the  composition  bushings,  f  the  disadvant- 
ages we  experienced  would  be  much  diminished.  It  should  nev- 
er, I  think,  be  applied  to  steamers  designed  for  river  navigation 
unless  wooden  bushings  be  used.  But  its  advantages  at  sea  and  in 
stormy  weather  were  fully  demonstrated  in  this  pampero,  where 
the  movements  of  the  engine,  though  slow,  were  as  uniform  as 
they  would  have  been  in  a  placid  river. 

Eunning  along  the  southern  coast  of  Brazil  near  enough  to 
shore  to  render  objects  on  land  well  defined,  we  had  an  opportu- 
nity of  testing  the  accuracy  of  our  charts.  Some  proved  to  be 
greatly  in  error.  I  have  seen  no  Enghsh  surveys  of  this  coast, 
but  I  must  avail  myself  of  this  opportunity  to  express  my  high 
appreciation  of  the  French  charts  over  all  others  that  have  come 
under  my  observation.  I  can  not  give  a  better  evidence  of  my 
confidence  in  them  than  to  state  that,  though  no  one  on  board  the 
Water  Witch  had  ever  before  entered  the  estuary  of  St.  Catharine, 
yet,  guided  solely  by  one  of  them,  we  ran  in  through  the  southern 
entrance  and  anchored,  on  a  very  dark  night.  We  had  "  made  the 
headlands"  before  the  closing  in  of  day,  and  while  "  standing  into" 
the  harbor,  the  roar  of  the  breakers  on  either  side  warned  us  of  the 

*  Since  writing  the  above,  Mr.  Brown  exhibited  to  me,  December  15,  1857,  in 
"Washington,  a  patented  invention  of  his,  made  in  1853,  with  the  eccentric  applied 
to  the  shaft  inside  of  the  wheel. 

t  It  has  been  satisfactorily  determined  that  wooden  bushings  of  lignum-vitae, 
locust,  or  any  such  woods,  are  preferable  to  either  brass  or  steel. 


32  MONTEVIDEO. 

narrowness  of  the  pass.  On  the  following  day  we  passed  up  the 
estuary,  the  harbor  chart  being  our  only  pilot  through  the  wind- 
ings of  the  channel,  the  depth  of  which  in  many  parts  was  only 
from  one  to  two  feet  greater  than  the  draught  of  the  steamer. 

A  few  days  after  the  gale  which  tested  so  fully  the  powers  of 
our  little  craft,  we  bade  adieu  for  a  time  to  old  ocean,  and,  under 
the  cheering  influence  of  a  bright  morning  sun,  passed  Santa 
Maria,  the  northern  cape  of  the  mouth  of  "La  Plata."  Our  feel- 
ings may  be  imagined  on  entering  this  vast  reservoir  of  great 
rivers  and  a  multitude  of  smaller  waters,  which  coursed  through 
lands  so  invested  with  the  interest  of  the  unknown  that,  in  con- 
templating them  as  the  scene  of  our  labors  for  some  years  to  come, 
we  felt  all  the  enthusiasm  of  explorers,  hoping  to  add  largely  to 
geographical  knowledge.  The  Eiver  "  La  Plata"  should  be  called 
an  estuary,  being  170  miles  wide  at  its  mouth,  and  180  in  length. 

We  continued  our  course,  and  toward  midnight,  guided  by  the 
revolving  light  of  the  "  Mount"  (from  which  the  city  derives  its 
name)  and  the  lights  of  the  town,  we  reached  the  anchorage  safe- 
ly. Pounding  close  under  the  stern  of  a  large  ship,  though  it 
was  very  dark,  I  became  satisfied  of  her  identity,  reported  the  ar- 
rival of  the  steamer  Water  Witch,  and  asked,  "  Is  that  the  frigate 
Congress  ?"  The  reply  from  the  officer  of  the  deck  was  in  the 
affirmative.  We  exchanged  the  usual  compliments,  and  soon 
the  little  craft  was  at  anchor  "  alongside  the  flag-ship"  of  one  of 
the  most  gallant  officers  of  the  navy,  the  late  Commodore  Isaac 
M'Keever. 

We  had  sailed  from  an  infected  district  (Rio  Janeiro),  where  the 
yellow  fever  was  raging,  and  had  escaped  without  a  single  case ; 
but  there  is  no  appeal  from  the  laws  of  quarantine,  and,  notwith- 
standing the  perfect  health  of  officers  and  crew,  we  were  subject- 
ed to  the  usual  imprisonment.  Few  so  well  as  sailors  know  the 
pleasure  and  eagerness  with  which  ships  from  "  home"  are  greeted 
by  those  on  foreign  stations ;  but  we  could  not  communicate  with 
our  friends  on  board  the  "  frigate"  without  subjecting  them  to  the 
detention  which  awaited  us ;  therefore,  after  the  lapse  of  a  few 
hours,  we  entered  the  harbor,  and  anchored  in  that  quarter  as- 
signed to  vessels  in  quarantine. 

Until  within  a  few  years,  the  health  of  Eio  de  Janeiro,  next 
to  the  security  and  magnificence  of  its  harbor,  had  formed 
its  greatest  attraction  to  vessels  trading  or  cruising  on  the  Bra- 
zilian coast;  but  in  18-19  the  yellow  fever  was  brought  to  this 


MONTEVIDEO. 


88 


beautiful  region  from  tlie 
coast  of  Africa,  and  it  has 
increased  vastly  the  mortal- 
ity. It  is  said,  however,  now 
to  be  on  the  decrease.    Per- 
haps I  am  hasty  in  adopting 
the  most  generally  received 
opinion  of  its  origin  by  ships 
from  the  African  coast,  for 
medical    men    are    by    no 
means  agreed  on  this  point, 
some  attributing  it  to  lo- 
cal influences,  there  having 
been,  during  the  prevalence 
of  this  fever,  not  only  a  ces- 
sation of  storms,  great  stag- 
nation in  the  atmosphere, 
and   other   meteorological 
changes,  but,  of  late  years, 
an  increased  malignancy  in 
the  types  of  fever  preva- 
lent.    Again,  it  is  worthy 
of  note,  that  from  Eio  it  has 
extended  in  a  northerly  di- 
rection, visiting  all  the  cit- 
ies of  the  coast  of  Brazil, 
"La  Plata,"  so  far,  has  been 
exempt.     Montevideo  and 
Buenos  Ayres,  with  a  pop- 
ulation, the  former  of  one 
hundred  and  twenty,  the  lat- 
ter of  forty  thousand  souls, 
have  never  been  troubled 
by  this  scourge."^ 

M o n  t e  vi  d eo,  the  chief 
town  and  capital  of  Uru- 
guay, is  the  first  consider- 

*  The  above  had  scarcely  been 
written  when  the  intelligence  ar- 
rived that  the  fever  had  reached 
Montevideo  in  the  spring  of  1857. 


34  MONTEVIDEO. 

able  port  on  "La  Plata,"  on  entering  from  sea, thongli  a  portion 
of  the  trade  is  shared  by  Maldonado,  about  70  miles  east  of  it, 
and  on  the  same  side  of  the  river.  It  is  situated  on  a  peninsula, 
rising  gradually  to  a  level,  with  a  gently  rolling  country,  which 
extends  to  the  "sierras"  on  the  confines  of  Brazil.  The  extrem- 
ity of  this  peninsula  forms  the  southern  point  to  the  entrance  of 
the  harbor.  On  the  opposite  side  stands  "  the  Mount,"  rising  from 
the  water's  edge  to  a  height  of  about  490  feet,  and  crowned  by  a 
small  fortress,  now  in  ruins,  in  the  centre  of  which  is  the  revolv- 
ing light  to  which  I  have  alluded.  The  harbor,  although  not  very 
spacious,  is  protected  from  all  winds  save  those  from  the  south- 
west, the  quarter  whence  come  the  "pamperos."  Although  they 
burst  over  "La  Plata"  at  this  point  with  great  violence,  grave 
marine  disasters  seldom  occur,  for  the  "  holding-ground"  is  good, 
and  the  "  under  tow"  enables  vessels  to  resist  the  force  of  the 
wind  and  ride  easily  at  their  anchors.  From  the  mouth  of  the 
harbor  to  the  inner  anchorage,  the  depth  varies  from  12  to  18 
feet. 

Notwithstanding  the  depressed  state  of  trade,  in  consequence  of 
the  nine  years'  siege  of  Oribe,  its  occupation  by  foreign  troops, 
and  the  destruction  of  the  cattle — one  great  source  of  wealth  to 
the  province — Montevideo  has  increased  in  population,  and  in  its 
domestic  architecture  there  has  been  great  improvement.  For- 
merly the  buildings  were  uniformly  of  one  story,  with  "  azoteas ;" 
now  they  are  of  two  and  three,  and  finished  in  the  handsomest 
modern  style.  The  usual  materials  for  building  are  brick  and 
stone.  The  latter  is  generally  covered  with  stucco,  which  the 
equable  climate  preserves  in  peifection.  The  city  has  extended 
far  beyond  its  original  limits  defined  by  the  old  wall  and  ditch ; 
and  when  civil  and  foreign  wars  shall  cease  to  distract  this  coun- 
try, I  can  well  imagine  that  it  will  offer  many  attractions  as  a  res- 
idence, both  socially  and  commercially. 

Before  sailing  from  Montevideo  I  called  on  Colonel  Wincheslao 
Paunero,  an  officer  of  the  "War  Department,  and  brother-in-law  of 
the  late  President  Bolivian  of  Bolivia,  and  obtained  from  him  the 
loan  of  a  very  handsomely  executed  map  of  that  state,  from  which 
I  took  a  tracing,  as  it  seemed  to  be  authentic,  and  of  more  recent 
date  than  any  I  had  seen.  This  map  was  executed  under  the  ad- 
ministration of  General  Bolivian.  Colonel  Paunero  remarked  that 
he  would  take  much  pleasure  in  presenting  it  to  me  for  the  ben- 
efit of  the  expedition ;  but  as  it  was  left  to  him  as  a  legacy  by  his 


ARRIVAL  AT  BUENOS  AYRES.  35 

deceased  friend  and  relative,  he  must  forego  the  gratification  of 
doing  so.  He  seemed  greatly  interested  in  our  work,  and  sent 
me  a  letter  of  introduction  to  the  Bolivian  charge  at  Buenos  Ayres, 
Seiior  Don  Juan  de  la  Cruz  Bennavento,  whom  I  found  enthusi- 
astic on  the  subject  of  our  expedition,  hoping  that  it  might  be 
the  means  of  establishing  the  practicability  of  some  outlet  for 
the  products  of  his  isolated  country  through  the  waters  of  "La 
Plata." 


CHAPTER  II. 

Arrival  at  Buenos  Ayres. — Its  Site. — Winds. — Higueritas. — Trade. — Buildings. — 
Fruits  and  Flowers. — Landing  at  Buenos  Ayres. — Besiegers  and  Besieged. — Our 
Ministers. — Treaty  with  President  Lopez. — Urquiza's  Army. — Visit  at  Head- 
quarters.— Personal  Appearance  of  the  General. — He  interests  himself  in  the 
Expedition. — Detention  at  Buenos  Ayres.- — Letter  from  ]\Ii-.  Pendleton. — Treach- 
ery in  the  Squadron. — Joint  Treaty  of  Navigation. — Martin  Garcia  Channel. — 
New  Channel  discovered. — Letter  from  Messrs.  Schenck  and  Pendleton. — Break- 
ing up  of  the  Siege. — Senor  Urquiza  and  Staff  on  board  the  Water  Witch. — Pa- 
lermo, the  former  Residence  of  Rosas. — The  Dictator  and  his  Daughter  Manu- 
elita. — Urquiza's  Dog. — The  Director's  Demeanor. — The  Voyage. — Ladies  on 
board. — Temperance  of  Urquiza. — He  leaves  the  Water  Witch. — Return  to 
Buenos  Ayres. — Tribute  to  British  OflScers. 

On  the  afternoon  of  the  24th  of  May  we  sailed  from  Monte- 
video, and  arrived  the  following  morning  at  Buenos  Ayres.  We 
had  gained  time,  and,  from  the  width  of  the  river,  and  the  unat- 
tractive character  of  its  shores,  had  lost  nothing  by  passing  this 
distance — one  hundred  miles — in  the  night.  Admirable  surveys 
of  this  part  of  "  La  Plata"  have  been  made  by  the  English,  and  the 
navigation  between  the  two  cities  is  attended  with  no  difficulties, 
provided  due  attention  be  paid  to  the  tides  and  the  lead.  Vessels 
of  eighteen  feet  draught  may  with  safety  reach  the  outer  roads  of 
Buenos  Ayres — the  anchorage  of  all  men-of-war,  and  merchant- 
men drawing  more  than  twelve  feet.  However,  the  distance  of 
this  anchorage  from  the  city  (four  miles)  renders  the  labor  and 
expense  of  discharging  cargo  very  great.  Sometimes  a  detention 
of  months  at  a  time  is  caused  by  wind  and  weather. 

The  trade  of  Buenos  Ayres  should  be  confined  to  vessels  not 
exceeding  a  draught  of  twelve  feet,  for  such  could  enter  the  inner 
roads  at  ordinary  high  water,  and  no  danger  need  be  apprehend- 
ed even  should  they  take  the  bottom.     The  southeast  winds, 


36  SITE  OF  BUENOS  AYRES. 

whicli  alone  produce  a  sea  at  all  to  be  apprehended,  cause  a  rise 
of  the  water  whicli  increases  its  depth  some  six  or  eight  feet; 
and  the  north  wind,  which  diminishes  the  depth,  will  not  produce 
a  sea  sufficient  to  cause  a  vessel  to  thump,  although  she  may  be 
resting  on  the  bottom. 

The  explorations  of  the  first  settlers  of  La  Plata  were  to  the 
west,  seeking  the  auriferous  lands  which  the  Indians  described  as 
in  that  direction,  or  to  open  a  communication  with  the  conquests 
of  Pizarro  and  Almagro.  The  hope  of  ultimately  effecting  this 
great  object  undoubtedly  influenced  Mendoza,  and  subsequently 
De  Garay,  in  selecting  the  site  of  Buenos  Ayres.  They  were  cer- 
tainly not  wholly  influenced  by  considerations  of  its  advantageous 
position  as  the  great  commercial  city  of  the  country,  for  a  more 
thorough  examination  would  have  revealed  to  them  a  point  on 
the  Uruguay,  about  fifty  miles  distant,  in  every  way  adapted  to 
the  wants  of  an  extended  commerce  ;  a  port  (Higueritas)  at  which 
vessels  could  ride  safely  at  anchor,  discharge  and  receive  cargo 
at  all  times.  We  must,  however,  remember  that  in  their  wild- 
est dreams  of  the  future,  even  to  the  close  of  the  eighteenth  cen- 
tury, the  colonists  of  La  Plata  could  not  have  foreseen  the  trade 
of  the  world  as  it  is  now  carried  on,  in  ships  and  steamers  of  ten 
and  twenty  times  greater  tonnage  than  the  small  craft  in  which 
the  Spanish  mariners  so  boldly  launched  forth  in  unknown  seas. 
To  reach  Higueritas,  vessels  must  first  pass  the  bar  of  San  Juan, 
over  which  there  will  not  be  found  more  than  fifteen  feet  water, 
unless  when  the  southeast  winds  are  blowing. 

Notwithstanding  the  unfavorable  position  of  Buenos  Ayres  as 
a  commercial  town — which,  to  some  extent,  would  have  been  rem- 
edied by  a  more  enterprising  peoj^le — as  the  port  of  entry  for  the 
exjDorts  and  imports  of  the  whole  Argentine  Confederation,  it  has 
steadily  progressed  in  population  and  commerce.  Its  importing 
and  exporting  trade  is  chiefly  in  the  hands  of  foreigners,  English, 
Americans,  and  French ;  and  though  the  civil  wars  which  have 
distracted  the  provinces  since  their  independence  have  dimin- 
ished the  number  of  horned  cattle,  and  the  frequent  blockades  to 
which  it  has  been  subjected  have  equally  interrupted  all  foreign 
importations,  the  resources  of  the  interior  provinces  are  so  ex- 
haustless,  the  foreign  population  of  the  city  so  large,  that  it  seems 
only  destined  to  encounter  these  disasters  to  recover  from  them 
with  renewed  energy.     The  rearing  of  sheep  has  vastly  increased 


THE  CITY.— LANDING.  37 

the  trade  in  wool,  and  the  cultivation  of  wheat  now  falls  little  short 
of  the  home  demand. 

A  minute  description  of  Buenos  Ayres  would  be  a  twice-told 
tale,  but  it  is  rapidly  passing  through  changes  which  will  in  a  few 
years  make  it  one  of  the  finest  cities  of  the  continent. 
,  In  extending  it,  successive  generations  have  followed  the  plan 
prescribed  by  the  laws  of  the  Indies  to  all  the  first  cities  of  Span- 
ish America,  and  the  Buenos  Ayres  of  1857  is  only  the  city  of  De 
Garay  embellished  and  extended;  its  rectangular  streets  com- 
mand in  every  direction  long  vistas,  and  now  embrace  within 
their  limits  dwellings  possessing  all  the  elegancies  and  comforts 
that  Europeans  and  Americans  have  made  essentials  in  domestic 
architecture. 

Few  or  no  structures  of  great  architectural  merit  strike  the  eye, 
unless  we  may  except  the  churches  and  convents ;  the  former, 
built  principally  by  the  Jesuits,  though  massive,  add  nothing  by 
exterior  decoration  to  the  beauty  of  the  city.  The  streets  are  well 
paved  with  granite,  and  the  environs  are  pleasantly  dotted  with 
the  quintas  (country-houses)  of  the  native  and  foreign  merchants. 
The  Portefios  are  extravagantly  fond  of  flowers,  and  at  these  coun- 
try residences  indulge  their  taste  by  cultivating  in  perfection  the 
gorgeous  flora  of  tropical  and  temperate  regions. 

We  also  find  many  of  the  fruits  and  vegetables  known  to  our 
horticulture,  such  as  peaches,  melons,  tomatoes,  asparagus,  etc., 
grown  with  great  success.  The  apples  and  pears  of  Montevideo 
are  superior  to  those  of  Buenos  Ayres,  which  must  arise  more  from 
difference  of  soil  than  climatic  influence,  the  regions  in  which  these 
fruits  are  cultivated  being  very  much  in  the  same  latitude ;  but  the 
Banda  Oriental  is  more  rolling  in  its  surface,  and  thus,  having  a 
drier  soil,  is  of  course  better  adapted  to  such  cultivation. 

The  visitor  of  former  years,  who  made  his  first  appearance  be- 
fore the  gay  crowds  of  the  Play  a  in  a  wagon  of  rough  boards  open 
at  each  end,  driven  by  a  half-naked  native  belaboring  the  poor 
beasts  attached  to  the  pole  by  a  ring,  which  enabled  him  to  liter- 
ally put  the  "cart  before  the  horse,"  can  now  reach  the  new  mole 
in  a  boat,  and  ascend  by  flights  of  steps. 

The  old  mode  of  landing  arose  from  the  formation  of  the  shore 
in  front  of  the  city,  a  flat  tufa  bottom,  which  extends  far  out,  and 
renders  it  at  low  water  even  impossible  for  boats  to  approach 
within  a  quarter  of  a  mile  of  the  Playa.  Before  the  mole  was 
constructed  hundreds  of  carts  might  have  been  seen  waiting  out 


38  NEGOTIATIONS  OPENED. 

in  the  waters  of  La  Plata  to  convey  passengers  and  freight  on 
shore,  and  the  shouts — indeed  yells  of  the  drivers,  the  plunging 
of  the  beasts  up  to  their  bellies  in  the  water  as  each  boat  would 
approach,  made  a  din  and  confusion  to  which  the  noisy  rivalry 
of  hackmen  at  our  railway  stations  or  wharves  would  be  com- 
parative quiet.  ^ 

On  entering  the  "outer  roads"  Our  attention  was  drawn  to 
the  blockading  squadron,  under  the  "  Argentine"  flag,  com- 
posed of  three  steamers,  a  brig,  a  three-masted  schooner,  and 
several  smaller  vessels,  co-operating  with  the  besieging  army  of 
Urquiza. 

As  our  steamer  had  only  a  draught  of  nine  feet,  we  passed  on, 
and  rounding  the  northern  end  of  the  shoal  which  separates  the 
"outer"  from  the  "inner"  roads,  entered  the  latter,  where  lay  the 
squadron  of  the  "inside"  party.  This  was  inferior  to  that  of  the 
"  outside"  party,  and  found  its  protection  more  in  the  presence  of 
foreign  men-of-war  and  merchantmen  than  from  the  water-bat- 
tery which  guarded  the  inner  aDchorage.  A  marked  considera- 
tion for  the  lives  and  property  of  foreigners  characterized  the 
course  of  Urquiza  throughout  this  siege.  His  great  object  seem- 
ed to  be  to  reduce  the  city  by  cutting  off  supplies,  and  thus  avoid 
the  fearful  loss  of  life  and  destruction  of  property  which  a  bom- 
bardment or  assault  would  have  caused. 

Arrived  at  Buenos  Ayres,  I  felt  that  we  had  reached  the  initial 
point  of  our  work.  My  first  duty  was  to  visit  Mr.  Pendleton,  of 
Virginia,  the  representative  of  our  government  near  the  Argen- 
tine Confederation,  and  the  public  authorities  of  the  place.  In 
co-operation  with  Mr.  Schenck,  of  Ohio,  our  minister  to  Brazil 
(who  had  visited  Buenos  Ajrres  for  the  purpose),  Mr.  Pendleton 
was  engaged  in  negotiating  a  treaty  with  the  "Provisional  Di- 
rector." I  informed  them  of  my  letters  of  credence  to  the  Presi- 
dent of  Paraguay,  and  my  joint  commission  from  the  President 
of  the  United  States,  wherein  Mr.  Pendleton,  Mr.  Schenck,  and 
myself  were  authorized  and  empowered  to  conclude  a  "treaty  of 
commerce"  with  that  republic. 

My  letters  of  instructions  invested  me  with  full  powers  to  act 
individually,  should  it  not  be  proper  or  convenient  for  these  gen- 
tlemen to  absent  themselves  from  Buenos  Ayres,  the  scene,  as  we 
have  shown,  of  important  events  at  this  time.  Mr,  Pendleton  in- 
formed me  that,  having  been  invited  by  Sir  Charles  Hotham,  the 
British  minister  at  Buenos  Ayres,  to  accompany  him  to  Para- 


VISIT  TO  SAN  JOSE.  39 

guay,  lie  had  accepted  tlie  invitation,  and  availed  liimself  of  the 
opportunity,  at  the  same  time,  with  the  ministers  of  England, 
France,  and  Sardinia,  to  negotiate  and  sign  a  treaty  of  navigation 
and  commerce  with  President  Lopez. 

I  was  naturally  anxious  to  see  the  distinguished  author  of  a 
decree  which  had  opened^  for  the  first  time,  the  valuable  re- 
sources of  so  fruitful  a  region  to  the  commerce  of  the  world.  Re- 
garded only  as  a  political  move,  it  gave  evidence  of  forecast  and 
sagacity  far  in  advance  of  the  age  of  "  his  people ;"  added  to  this, 
it  was  a  very  essential  point  to  obtain  his  good- will  and  favorable 
consideration  for  the  objects  of  the  expedition,  so  that  no  impedi- 
ments should  embarrass  its  progress  while  operating  within  the 
territory  of  the  Argentine  Confederation. 

I  expressed  this  wish  to  Mr.  Pendleton,  who  immediately  offer- 
ed to  call  with  me  at  San  Jose  de  Flores,  a  quinta  but  a  short 
distance  beyond  the  suburbs  of  the  city,  where  General  Urquiza 
held  his  head-quarters. 

Having  obtained  the  necessary  permission,  granted  only  to 
the  representatives  of  foreign  powers,  we  started  for  San  Jose, 
accompanied  by  Mr.  Schenck.  After  riding  through  many  bar- 
ricaded streets,  a  ponderous  gate  swung  back  to  give  us  egress; 
in  going  through  which,  we  passed  over  a  subterranean  mine  with 
train  laid.  The  marks  of  war  were  upon  the  deserted  and  batter- 
ed houses,  which,  standing  between  the  line  of  the  besieging  army 
and  city,  had  suffered  in  the  skirmishing  that  occasionally  took 
place.  After  riding  a  mile  and  a  half  in  the  country,  we  ob- 
served a  group  of  officers  lounging  before  a  quinta.  There  was 
little  of  the  pomp  and  circumstance  of  war  about  the  quarters 
of  Urquiza,  and  yet  he  commanded  an  effective  army  of  gauchos. 
Climate  and  the  habits  of  these  soldiers  rendered  an  elaborate 
commissariat  entirely  unnecessary ;  their  food  was  beef,  and  beef 
only,  without  bread  or  vegetables ;  the  forage  of  their  horses  the 
grass  of  the  pampas.  From  the  spirit  with  which  many  groups 
seemed  to  be  amusing  themselves,  and  the  careless  indifference 
of  others  lounging  and  sleeping  on  the  ground,  one  might  have 
supposed  it  the  bivouac  of  a  victorious  army. 

As  we  approached  the  quinta,  several  officers  came  forward  to 
meet  us,  and  said  that  our  visit  would  be  immediately  announced 
to  the  general,  who  had  not  yet  risen,  having  the  night  before 
given  a  ball,  at  which  the  dancing  was  kept  up  until  daylight. 
While  waiting  for  him,  we  sauntered  through  the  grounds,  where 


& 


40  UKQUIZA. 

we  were  joined  by  four  other  gentlemen,  introduced  as  deputies 
from  the  Congress  of  Santa  Fe,  who  had  brought  to  the  Provis- 
ional Director  the  Constitution  which  was  to  be  submitted  to  the 
provinces  for  their  adoption.  It  was  modeled,  they  told  us,  upon 
that  of  the  United  States,  save  in  a  few  points,  where  it  would 
have  been  totally  inoperative. 

We  were  soon  summoned  to  the  presence  of  Urquiza,  a  stout, 
well-formed  person,  of  medium  height,  with  fine,  piercing  eyes, 
and  frank  countenance.  His  dignified  but  highly  courteous  man- 
ners at  once  impressed  me  favorably.  If  "  without  education," 
"  a  mere  gaucho,"  as  I  was  told  by  many,  he  has  a  natural  intelli- 
gence and  bold  capacity  which  will  enable  him  to  administer  with 
ability  the  responsible  duties  imposed  on  him  by  the  people  of 
the  Argentine  Confederation. 

Our  minister  was  unbounded  in  his  expressions  of  admiration 
for  this  "  man  of  the  times  ;"  an  opinion  which  impressed  me 
favorably,  knowing  his  familiarity  with  the  political  events  which 
had  brought  Urquiza  into  so  distinguished  a  position  before  the 
world. 

After  some  general  conversation  upon  local  questions,  the  sub- 
ject of  the  expedition  was  introduced,  and  I  was  exceedingly 
gratified  at  the  interest  he  expressed  for  its  success.  He  seemed 
readily  to  comprehend  the  benefit  which  La  Plata  would  derive 
from  my  anticipated  surveys  ;  and,  as  an  evidence  of  his  approval 
of  the  work,  and  of  his  good  wishes  for  its  success  while  operating 
within  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Argentine  states,  he  sent  for  his 
secretary,  and  directed  him  to  make  out  the  following  instructions 
to  the  authorities  of  the  Riverine  Provinces : 

[Tkanslation.] 

"  Long  live  the  Argentine  Confederation." 
"  The  Provisional  Director  of  the  Argentine  Confederation." 

"  The  American  steamer  of  war  Water  Witch,  from  the  United  States 
of  North  America,  having  arrived  in  the  River  La  Plata,  and  her  captain, 
Thomas  J.  Page,  having  expressed  his  desire  to  navigate  the  rivers  of  the 
Argentine  Confederation  for  scientific  purposes,  I  enjoin  and  command  the 
authorities  of  the  Riverine  Provinces  that  they  will  not  present  any  impedi- 
ments to  his  exploration,  but  afford  him  all  the  assistance  he  may  need  or 
require.  "JUSTO  J.  URQUIZA. 

''San  Jose  de  Flores,  May  27,  1853." 

The  promptness  with  which  this  order  was  issued  gave  me  an 


URQUIZA. 


41 


JUSTO  J.  UKQCrlZA,  PKE8IDENT   OP  THE   AKGENTINE  CONFBDEKATION. 

insight  into  his  quick  and  decisive  manner  of  transacting  busi- 
ness. In  returning  to  the  city,  though  no  danger  could  be  appre- 
hended, as  an  act  of  courtesy  he  ordered  an  escort,  commanded 
by  one  of  his  favorite  officers,  to  accompany  us  beyond  the  lines 
of  the  besieging  army. 

I  anticipated  no  detention  in  Buenos  Ayres  beyond  what  might 
be  necessary  in  examining  and  procuring  papers  and  documents 
which  I  deemed  of  importance  towaTd  facilitating  our  progress 
in  the  exploration  of  rivers  over  wliich,  at  different  points,  the 
neighboring  nations — Brazil,  the  Argentine  Confederation,  Para- 
guay, Bolivia,  and  Uruguay — claimed  jurisdiction,  some  concur- 
rent, others  exclusive ;  but  an  unbroken  chain  of  circumstances 


42  DELAYS. 

occurred  to  keep  us  for  some  mouths,  during  wliicli  tlie  Water 
Witch  was  entirely  diverted  from  the  original  objects  of  the  ex- 
pedition. 

I  appointed,  at  different  times,  a  day  for  sailing,  supposing  her 
services  would  no  longer  be  required ;  but  before  that  day  would 
arrive,  unlooked-for  emergencies  arose,  causing  a  still  longer  de- 
tention. I  consoled  myself  with  the  reflection  that  she  was  en- 
gaged in  important  pubhc  service  in  facilitating  treaty  negotia- 
tions, which,  as  represented  by  Mr.  Schenck  to  the  State  Depart- 
ment, "could  not  have  been  concluded  without  her."*  There 
was  no  other  vessel  of  war  in  port,  and,  from  the  state  of  contend- 
ing parties,  the  services  of  one  might  be  required  at  any  time,  to 
afford  protection  to  American  citizens. 

At  last  an  early  day  in  July  was  fixed  upon  to  begin  our  work, 
and,  on  informing  General  Urquiza  of  this  determination,  and  of- 
fering to  take  charge  of  any  communications  he  might  desire  to 
have  delivered  in  our  route,  I  received  from  him  a  letter  of  intro- 
duction to  President  Lopez,  in  which  he  alluded  to  the  expedi- 
tion as  a  work  designed  for  scientific  purposes,  and  commended  it 
to  his  favorable  consideration. 

The  officers  looked  forward  with  impatience  to  the  commence- 
ment of  the  legitimate  work  of  the  exj^edition,  and  I  had  com- 
pleted every  arrangement  for  leaving  Buenos  Ayres,  when  I  re- 
ceived the  following  letter  from  Mr.  Pendleton : 


"Legation  of  the  United  States," 
Buenos  Ayres,  July  3d,  1853. 


"  My  dear  Sir, — I  am  aware  of  your  great  anxiety  to  proceed  up  the 
river  in  pursuance  of  the  objects  of  the  expedition  under  your  command,  and 
it  is  therefore  with  very  great  reluctance  that  I  take  leave  to  suggest  to  you 


*  Extract  of  a  dispatch  from  E.  C.  Schenck,  Esq.,  to  the  Secretary  of  State: 

^  "  Legation  of  the  United  States,    ) 

Rio  de  Janeiro,  August  23d,  1853.  / 
"  I  desire  also  to  express  to  you  a  very  high  sense  of  the  important  services  ren- 
dered to  us  by  Lieutenant  Thomas  J.  Page,  commanding  the  U.  S.  steamer  '  "Water 
Witch.'  Without  his  various  services  and  assistance  in  carrying  General  Urquiza 
and  his  staff,  when  they  retired  from  Buenos  Ayres ;  in  conveying  Mr.  Pendleton 
and  myself  afterward  to  Entre  Kios,  and  in  other  duties  which  he,  with  his  ship, 
was  able  to  perform,  I  hardly  know  how  we  could  have  succeeded  in  bringing  our 
negotiations  to  so  successful  a  conclusion.  The  presence  of  the  '  Water  Witch'  for 
several  weeks,  at  that  particular  juncture,  was  invaluable,  and  all  her  movements 
strikingly  exemplified  the  necessity  of  having  a  vessel  of  her  kind  and  class,  on  al- 
most all  occasions,  in  the  Kiver  Plate." 


SIEGE  OF  BUENOS  AYRES.  4.3 

that  it  is  very  desirable  you  should  remain  a  few  days  longer  in  the  port  of 
Buenos  Ayres. 

"  Events  of  importance,  and  of  a  decisive  character,  in  respect  to  the  con- 
dition of  this  city  and  province,  are,  in  my  opinion,  at  hand.  No  American 
man-of-war  is  in  the  river ;  Captain  Downing,  with  the  Jamestown,  having 
suddenly,  and  without  any  correspondence  or  consultation  with  me  on  the 
subject,  cleared  out,  as  I  have  informally  learned,  to  proceed  to  Rio  Janeiro 
for  the  alleged  purpose  of  having  his  ship  caulked. 

"  I  would  not  make  this  request  but  for  the  strongest  conviction  on  my 
own  part  that  the  events  referred  to  are  almost  certain,  and  for  the  farther 
fact  that  I  am  virged  to  do  so  by  many  American  citizens  resident  in  Buenos 
Ayres,  and  that  I  have  also  the  concurrence  of  ]\Ir.  Schenck,  who  desires  me 

to  say  so  to  you.  JOHN  S.  PENDLETON. 

"Capt.  Thomas  J.  Page,  commanding  U.  S.  steamer  Water  Witch.''^ 

I  felt  it  my  duty  to  accede  to  this  request,  as  tlie  event  alluded 
to  in  tlie  letter  of  our  Charge  was  that  some  movement  of  the  be- 
sieging army  against  the  city  was  imminent ;  that  foreigners,  and 
all  neutral  persons,  would  be  informed,  in  a  day  or  two,  of  the  in- 
tention of  Urquiza  to  bombard  the  town ;  but  an  extraordinary 
occurrence  saved  Buenos  Ayres  from  this  infliction. 

Our  greatest  amusement,  after  this  new  and  unlooked-for  aspect 
of  affairs,  was  to  watch  the  movements  of  the  blockading  squadron, 
and  those  of  merchantmen  seemingly  running  the  blockade.  Yery 
perplexing  were  the  efforts  of  the  first  in  pursuing  and  never  over- 
taking vessels  deeply  laden  with  flour  and  many  other  creature 
comforts,  which  would  undoubtedly  enrich  the  lucky  merchant  to 
whom  they  were  consigned,  and  feed  the  hungry  population  whom 
Urquiza  hoped  to  starve  into  terms.  The  skill  was  wonderfid 
with  which  this  squadron  fired  only  to  miss  those  running  store- 
houses ;  and  its  manoeuvres  not  to  intercept  ships — ^to  which,  for 
an  ample  "  quid  pro  quo,"  permission  had  been  already  given  to 
enter — most  amusing. 

There  was  treachery  somewhere,  but,  before  Urquiza  was  aware 
of  it,  all  was  consummated  by  the  commander-in-chief;  and  in  full 
view  of  the  foreign,  national,  and  commercial  ships  in  the  inner 
and  outer  roads,  and  an  immense  concourse  of  people  evidently 
gathered  on  the  Plaza  to  witness  the  scene,  the  squadron  was  de- 
livered up  to  the  "  inside"  party. 

We  at  first  watched  the  movements  of  these  vessels  with  inter- 
est and  excitement  as  they  came  in  one  after  the  other,  expecting 
to  witness  a  fair  fight;  but,  as  we  saw  the  rigging  manned,  and 


\ 

\ 


44  MEDIATION  OF  FOEEIGN  MINISTERS. 

listened  to  tlie  hearty  cheers  of  both  sides,  as  each  steamer  and 
vessel  entered  and  anchored ;  when  we  had  seen  the  officers  go 
deliberately  on  shore,  where  they  were  received  with  the  most  en- 
thusiastic demonstrations  of  joy,  our  contemptuous  indignation 
may  be  imagined. 

Public  rumor  pronounced  this  act  the  consummation  of  a  bar- 
gain, and  even  went  so  far  as  to  specify  the  sum  of  13,000  ounces 
as  the  share  of  the  commanding  officer,  with  an  equal  amount  di- 
vided among  the  officers  and  crews.  For  the  truth  of  this  I  do 
not  pretend  to  vouch.  I  give  it  as  a  rumor  of  the  time,  generally 
credited.  "  The  game  was  well  worth  the  candle,"  The  players 
knew  well  that,  without  the  co-operation  of  the  blockading  squad- 
ron, there  could  be  no  reduction  of  the  city.  By  its  defection,  a 
wide  gate  was  opened  for  the  introduction  of  supplies. 

Though  a  bombardment  of  Buenos  Ayres  had  been  considered 
imminent,  it  seems  never  to  have  been  the  intention  of  Urquiza  to 
resort  to  so  desperate  a  measure.  By  interrupting  trade  and  cut- 
ting off  supplies  he  had  hoped  to  bring  the  authorities  to  terms. 

A  fair  opportunity  was  now  presented  for  the  mediation  of  the 
representatives  of  foreign  powers.  It  was  offered  and  accepted  by 
the  belligerent  parties,  and  ended  by  the  withdrawal  of  the  be- 
sieging army.  Messrs.  Pendleton  and  Schenck  took  an  active  part 
in  the  negotiations,  thus  terminating  a  civil  contest  which,  to  one 
side  or  the  other,  must  ultimately  have  been  highly  disastrous. 

A  little  before  the  cessation  of  hostilities,  our  representatives, 
at  the  same  tune  with  those  of  England  and  France,  concluded  a 
treaty  relating  especially  to  the  navigation  of  the  Martin  Garcia 
Channel,  through  which  the  Uruguay  and  main  branches  of  the 
Parana  empty  into  La  Plata.  It  was  supposed  to  command  ef- 
fectually the  entrance  of  the  upper  waters,  all  vessels  of  more 
than  eight  feet  draught  being  obliged  to  pass  within  pistol-shot 
of  its  shore.* 

This  treaty  guaranteed  the  free  navigation  of  the  channel  to  all 
foreign  flags,  the  governments  who  were  parties  to  it  agreeing  to 
use  their  influence  to  prevent  the  occupation  or  possession  of  this 

*  Article  5  of  treaty  for  the  free  navigation  of  the  Eivers  Parana  and  Uruguay, 
concluded  on  the  13th  Jvily,  1853: 

"The  high  contracting  parties,  considei-ing  that  the  island  of  Martin  Garcia 
may,  from  its  position,  embarrass  and  impede  the  free  navigation  of  the  confluents 
of  the  River  Plate,  agree  to  use  their  influence  to  prevent  the  possession  of  the  said 
island  from  being  retained  or  held  by  any  state  of  the  River  Plate  or  its  confluents 
which  shall  not  have  given  its  adhesion  to  the  principle  of  their  free  navigation. 


FREE  NAVIGATION.  45 

island  by  any  nation  tliat  should  attempt  to  close  the  navigation. 
At  the  time  of  this  treaty  it  was  in  possession  of  the  Argentine 
forces,  but,  by  the  defection  of  their  squadron,  jurisdiction  over  it 
passed  into  the  hands  of  Buenos  Ayres.  The  surveys  of  the  Wa- 
ter Witch  subsequently  disclosed  a  channel  on  the  other  side  of 
a  greater  depth  by  two  feet,  and  so  distant  as  to  lessen  its  import- 
ance as  a  military  position.  The  new  channel  will  also  divide 
the  jurisdiction  over  the  passage  between  Uruguay  and  Buenos 
Ayres  so  long  as  the  island  shall  be  retained  by  the  latter :  a 
possession  acquiesced  in  by  the  former,  but  never  conceded  as  a 
right. 

The  entire  trade  of  those  countries,  save  that  which  might  be 
carried  on  in  vessels  of  small  draught  by  Las  Palmas,  must  pass 
through  one  or  the  other,  either  or  both  of  which  might  easily  be 
blockaded  by  a  very  small  naval  force  in  co-operation  with  bat- 
teries on  the  island.  The  importance  of  this  new  channel  was 
strikingly  exemplified  in  a  correspondence  between  the  ministers 
of  Brazil  and  the  government  of  Buenos  Ayres  a  short  time  before 
its  discovery. 

In  February,  1855,  a  large  Brazilian  squadron  passed  through 
the  channel  of  Martin  Garcia  on  its  way  to  Paraguay.  Buenos 
Ayres  complained  of  this  as  an  infringement  of  her  sovereignty, 
permission  not  having  been  obtained  for  the  passage  of  these 
ships ;  for,  upon  the  ground  of  holding  territory  on  both  sides  of 
the  channel,  Martin  Garcia  being  on  the  east,  she  based  her  right 
to  prohibit  the  passage  of  a  foreign  fleet.  Whether,  under  exist- 
ing treaties,  she  possessed  this  right,  is  a  question  to  be  settled  by 
diplomatists;  but  by  the  discovery  of  the  new  channel,  even 
should  the  justice  of  her  jurisdiction  over  Martin  Garcia  be  fully 
recognized,  it  would  avail  her  nothing  more  than  closing  the  old 
highway,  leaving  a  better  passage,  over  which,  at  most,  she  could 
exercise  but  a  concurrent  power. 

An  acquaintance  with  the  unbounded  resources  of  the  basin  of 
La  Plata  can  alone  impress  us  with  the  importance  of  maintaining 
the  free  navigation  of  its  interior  waters  to  all  flags,  and^the  treat- 
ies between  Urquiza,  England,  France,  and  the  United  States  were 
only  a  consummation  of  the  decree  of  August,  1852,  declaratory 
of  this  fact. 

Buenos  Ayres  will  scarcely  be  permitted  by  the  upper  repub- 
lics to  renew  the  old  exploded  system  of  closing  the  rivers ;  but 
she  is  doubtless  annoyed  that  so  enlightened  an  act  should  have 


46  NEGOTIATIONS. 

been  among  the  first  of  Urquiza's  administration,  and  is  conse- 
quently disposed  to  regard  it  as  one  of  usurpation.  Slie  surely 
can  not  be  so  blind  to  her  own  interests  as  not  to  discover  that  it 
is  freighted  with  immense  benefits  to  herself.  Her  geographical 
position  at  the  very  portal  of  these  tributaries  will  enable  her, 
with  her  present  population  and  capital,  not  only  to  maintain  the 
ascendency  she  has  always  held  as  the  emporium  of  La  Plata, 
but  to  become  one  of  the  greatest  cities  of  the  American  conti- 
nent. 

The  detention  of  the  Water  Witch  was  not  at  an  end  with  the 
siege  of  Buenos  Ayres ;  her  presence  was  deemed  essential  in  facil- 
itating and  carrying  out  some  diplomatic  movements  to  which  the 
new  aspect  of  pohtical  affairs  had  given  rise ;  and  though  the  con- 
nection between  these  duties  and  those  prescribed  by  my  letter  of 
instructions  from  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  may  not  appear  at 
first  sight,  the  sequel  will  show  that  the  service  was  not  only  one 
of  deep  interest  to  our  government  and  people,  by  aiding  in  estab- 
lishing a  foundation  on  which  individual  rights  in  connection  with 
commercial  enterprises  might  be  maintained,  but  at  the  moment 
and  for  all  time  to  come  it  created  a  deep  feeling  of  respect  on 
the  part  of  the  people  of  the  Argentine  Confederation  for  the  flag 
borne  by  the  Water  Witch.  It  subsequently  facilitated  the  work 
of  the  expedition,  and  caused  the  ofl&cers  to  be  received  within  the 
Confederation  with  special  marks  of  respect  and  hospitality  when- 
ever they  were  brought  in  contact  with  the  authorities  or  people 
of  the  country. 

Before  the  close  of  the  negotiations  which  resulted  in  an  adjust- 
ment of  the  diflfi.culties  between  the  contending  parties,  besiegers 
and  besieged,  I  received  the  subjoined  note  from  Messrs.  Pendle- 
ton and  Schenck : 

"Legation  of  the  United  States,  > 
Buenos  Ayres,  July  10th,  1853.) 

"  Sir, — We  are  engaged  in  some  confidential  negotiations  at  present 
which  are  likely  to  result  in  an  accommodation  of  the  difficulties  existing 
at  Buenos  Ayres  between  the  parties  to  the  civil  war.  There  is  no  absolute 
certainty  as  to  the  event,  but  there  is  a  sufficient  probability  of  success  to 
justify  us  in  requesting  that  you  will  not  leave  the  place  for  a  few  days. 
We  make  this  request  because  it  is  a  part  of  the  present  plan  that  the  for- 
eign men-of-war  in  port  may  convey  the  Provisional  Director  and  his  escort 
to  the  neighboring  town  of  Gualaguaychu. 

"  As  important  objects  connected  with  our  duty  here  are  likely  to  be  at- 
tained more  readily  by  the  participation  of  the  United  States  flag  in  this 


THE  DAUGHTER  OF  ROSAS.  47 

transaction,  we  think  it  very  important  you  should  remain,  there  being  no 

other  United  States  vessel  in  port. 

"ROBERT  C.  SCHENCK, 
"JOHN  S.  PENDLETON. 
"Capt.  Thomas  J.  Page,  United  States  Steamer  Water  Witch." 

I  assented  to  this  request,  and  tlie  Water  Witcli  participated 
witli  two  of  her  Britannic  majesty's  steamers  in  the  conveyance 
of  the  Provisional  Director  and  his  suite  to  the  province  of  En- 
tre  Eios. 

The  representative  of  France  likewise  offered  the  "Provisionai 
Director"  the  use  of  a  national  vessel,  but,  on  repairing  with  the 
others  to  Palermo,  the  point  of  embarkation,  the  French  steamer, 
being  totally  unprepared  for  the  service,  did  not  join  the  escort. 
The  duty  consequently  devolved  on  H.  B.  M.  steamers  Trident, 
Lieutenant  Commanding  Harvey,  Locust,  Lieutenant  Day,  and  the 
U.  S.  steamer  Water  Witch.  Only  the  staff,  a  few  civil  officers 
who  were  with  General  Urquiza,  and  such  of  the  forces  as  had 
formed  his  escort,  in  all  four  hundred  persons,  were  conveyed  by 
these  vessels,  while  the  main  body  of  the  army  marched  by  land 
to  their  respective  destinations. 

The  "  Provisional  Director"  selected  the  Water  Witch  for  the 
passage  of  himself  and  suite. 

We  repaired  at  the  appointed  time  to  the  anchorage  off  Paler- 
mo, the  celebrated  and  once  beautiful  residence  of  the  Dictator 
Kosas  and  his  fair  daughter  "Manuehta."  It  is  about  two  miles 
north  of  the  city,  and  is  now  occupied  as  a  barrack  for  soldiers. 
Shghtly  elevated  above  the  river,  nature  had  done  nothing  for 
Palermo,  but  the  taste  and  wealth  of  Kosas  had  made  it  a  paradise. 
The  dictator  was  capable  of  one  tender  emotion,  love  for  his  fair 
and  only  child,  and  in  seeking  to  manifest  this  affection,  a  sense  of 
the  beautifal  in  art  and  nature  seems  to  have  been  awakened  in 
the  breast  of  this  hard  man.  Nothing  was  spared  that  could  adorn 
either  dwelling  or  grounds.  There  were  extensive  groves  of 
orange-trees,  and  some  idea  of  the  labor  and  expense  bestowed  on 
this  domain  may  be  gathered  from  the  fact  that  hundreds  of  sol- 
diers cleaned  their  foliage  leaf  by  leaf  The  road  leading  to  the 
city  was  made  with  care,  and  being  adorned  and  shaded  by  large 
trees,  had  become  the  fashionable  afternoon  drive.  Some  of  the 
former  visitors  to  Palermo  assured  me  that  the  graceful  manners 
of  the  Senorita  Manuelita  lent  a  charm  to  this  residence  which  nei- 
ther art  nor  the  lavished  money  of  Eosas  could  ever  bestow. 


48  URQUIZA  ON  THE  WATER  WITCH. 

Not  only  the  gay  and  fashionable  claimed  her  society  as  that 
of  an  accomplished  and  elegant  person,  but  some  of  the  broken- 
hearted victims  of  Eosas'  policy  sought  her  protection  and  inter- 
cession, as  one  endowed  with  all  the  tenderest  and  noblest  impulses 
of  a  woman's  character. 

On  the  13th  of  July  the  "Water  Witch  anchored  off  Palermo, 
and  on  the  same  day  Urquiza,  accompanied  by  Mr.  Pendleton, 
came  on  board.  He  had  with  him  a  noble  dog,  and  I  was  amused 
at  his  solicitude  for  the  safe  embarkation  of  this  animal,  which  he 
saw  in  the  boat  before  he  would  himself  leave  the  shore.  He  had 
been  his  constant  companion  for  many  years,  and  the  stories  of 
his  sagacity  and  fidelity  were  really  marvelous. 

Immediately  preceding  the  arrival  of  the  general,  under  a  sa- 
lute from  the  English  and  French  ships,  his  suite,  composed  of 
military  and  civil  officers,  in  all  forty-five  persons,  with  thirty- 
three  soldiers,  had  embarked  on  board  the  "Water  Witch.  The 
folio  whig  day  the  remainder  of  the  party  was  conveyed  on  board 
the  English  steamers. 

Intending  to  land  Mr.  Pendleton  and  receive  Sir  Charles  Hotham, 
the  British  minister,  who  desired  to  visit  General  Urquiza,  I  got 
under  way,  and  stood  for  the  inner  anchorage  off  the  city,  as  the 
speediest  means  of  accomplishing  both  objects.  The  "  Provisional 
Director"  sat  on  the  quarter-deck,  immovable  as  a  statue:  he 
surveyed  with  impassible  countenance  the  people,  who,  having 
followed  the  movements  of  the  Water  Witch,  crowded  the  Play  a, 
house-tops,  and  the  shores  of  the  river,  to  obtain  a  glimpse  of  him. 
In  "rounding  to"  for  the  purpose  of  standing  out  of  the  "Roads," 
we  passed  in  full  view  of  the  "naval"  force  which  had  distin- 
guished itself  in  so  extraordinary  a  manner.  We  can  not  but 
suppose  that  his  breast  was  full  of  honest  indignation,  but  not  the 
movement  of  a  muscle  betrayed  it. 

The  English  steamers  had  stood  on  their  way  from  Palermo  to 
the  entrance  of  the  Martin  Garcia  Channel,  but  ere  they  reached 
it  the  Water  Witch  came  up  with  thpm,  and  led  the  way  into  the 
Uruguay.  We  were  bound  for  the  port  of  Gualaguaychu,  or  the 
nearest  landing  we  could  make  on  the  river  to  General  Urquiza's 
"  estancia:." 

I  can  well  imagine  that  the  deck  of  the  Water  Witch  presented 
the  appearance  of  a  California  steamer  when  the  gold  fever  was  at 
its  height.  Before  we  had  become  "  shaken  down,"  it  seemed  im- 
possible that  her  expansive  power  could  meet  the  requirements 


THE  VOYAGE.  49 

of  her  human  freight.  My  little  cabin  had  been  arranged  for  the 
"Provisional  Director,"  but,  with  becoming  gallantry,  he  took  a 
berth  in  the  ward-room,  yielding  the  claim  of  rank  to  the  preroga- 
tive of  "  woman's  rights."  The  wife  of  one  of  his  generals,  with 
her  daughter,  had  for  some  months  shared  the  dangers  and  discom- 
forts of  the  besieging  army,  and  they  now  sought  the  protection 
of  our  flag.  The  cabin  was  a  %ee  bit  of  a  "  sailor's  snug  harbor." 
No  crinolined  lady  could  have  found  room  in  it  for  the  amphtude 

of  her  skirts,  but  Senora and  her  daughter,  during  the  five 

days  they  were  with  us,  made  themselves  comfortable  within  its 
narrow  Hmits.  The  officers  cordially  united  with  me  in  yielding 
their  berths  to  our  guests ;  but  so  limited  were  the  accommoda- 
tions of  the  Water  Witch,  that  the  mess-table  presented  a  contin- 
uous scene  of  "  fire  and  fall  back,"  and,  though  somewhat  worsted 
in  the  attack,  maintained  its  ground,  and  stood  ready  to  meet  each 
charge. 

I  was  much  struck  with  General  Urquiza's  extreme  temperance 
in  eating  and  drinking,  a  habit  acquired  probably  in  his  military- 
career.  At  an  early  hour  a  negro  servant*  took  him  his  mate, 
and  at  noon  he  dined,  using  water  as  his  only  beverage.  The  re- 
mainder of  the  day  he  ate  nothing.  Our  guests,  notwithstanding 
the  crowded  state  of  the  boat,  seemed  to  enjoy  themselves,  and  on 
the  fifth  day  from  their  reception  on  board  we  reached  the  an- 
chorage for  Gualaguaychu,  the  pilot  assuring  us  that  beyond  this 
we  could  not  pass.  Subsequently,  when  our  surveys  extended  to 
this  river,  I  discovered  that  we  could  have  ascended  to  Concep- 
cion  del  Uruguay,  where  General  Urquiza  wished  to  land. 

With  several  of  the  officers  I  accompanied  him  on  shore,  his 
suite  and  escort  having  been  landed  the  day  before.  On  leaving 
the  steamer,  under  a  salute  from  the  Locust,  we  were  joined  by 
Captain  Day,  and  the  Argentine  flag  was  hauled  down  from  the 
mast-head  of  the  Water  Witch,  I  explained  to  the  "  Provisional 
Director"  my  reason  for  not  saluting — the  fear  of  injury  to  the 
chronometers,  upon  which  the  success  of  our  fature  work  de- 
pended. 

The  whole  party  were  safely  landed,  and  the  general,  in  true 
Spanish  style,  embraced  me  in  saying  farewell,  and  begged  that  I 
would  always  consider  him  my  friend.  His  officers  also  left  us 
with  many  expressions  of  gratitude,  and  I  had  the  satisfaction  to 

*  This  man  had  for  many  years  been  the  body-servant  of  Urquiza,  and  at  the 
battle  of  Monte  Caseros  came  well-nigh  capturing  Rosas. 

4 


50  ENGLISH  STEAMERS  AGROUND. 

know  tliat  every  effort  had.  been  made  for  their  comfort  wliile  the 
recipients  of  our  country's  hospitaHties. 

The  steamer  Trident  had  not  arrived,  which  (anticipating  no 
difficulty)  we  attributed  to  her  being  a  "  slow  craft."  By  the  time 
we  returned  to  the  Water  Witch  it  was  quite  dark,  and  as  our 
pilot  was  rather  inexperienced,  and  the  navigation  of  this  part  of 
the  Uruguay  intricate,  I  determined  to  remain  at  anchor  until  day- 
light ;  however,  about  ten  o'clock,  I  had  a  visit  from  Captain  Day, 
who  had  heard  from  the  "Trident:"  she  was  "hard  and  fast" 
aground,  and  he  requested  me  to  accompany  him,  and  give  her 
immediate  assistance.  My  pilot  was  unwilling  to  take  the  respon- 
sibility of  running  the  steamer  at  night ;  but,  as  Captain  Day  ex- 
pressed confidence  in  his  man,  I  told  him  to  take  the  lead,  and  I 
would  follow. 

We  agreed  upon  a  signal  —  a  gun  —  should  the  Locust  run 
aground ;  and,  with  this  understanding,  we  moved  on  swimming- 
ly for  some  time,  congratulating  ourselves  that  the  worst  had  been 
passed,  when  the  concerted  signal  was  made.  On  slowly  coming 
up  to  the  Locust,  we  discovered  that  she  was  aground. 

A  hawser  was  made  fast  to  her,  taken  on  board  the  Water  Witch, 
and  with  a  few  revolutions  of  the  engine  she  was  again  afloat, 
when  we  proceeded  on  our  way  with  the  same  arrangement  of 
signals. 

A  very  few  minutes  elapsed  when  the  gun  warned  us  that  she 
was  again  aground.  An  effort  similar  to  the  first  was  made  to 
give  her  rehef,  but  to  no  purpose ;  under  a  full  pressure  of  steam, 
she  had  driven  her  bows  on  a  sand-bank.  We  came  to  anchor, 
and  our  men  turned  in  for  a  few  hours'  rest. 

In  the  morning  we  left  the  "Locust"  to  wait  for  a  rise  of  the 
tide,  and  proceeded  to  the  relief  of  the  "  Trident."  After  making 
an  ineffectual  pull,  we  relieved  her  of  as  many  of  the  Argentine 
soldiers  as  could  be  received  on  the  deck  of  the  Water  Witch,  and 
landed  them  at  the  same  point  where  Greneral  TJrquiza  disem- 
barked. 

Again  we  returned  to  the  relief  of  the  two  steamers.  Finding 
the  tide  rising,  we  went  first  to  the  "Trident,"  and  commenced 
the  process  of  tugging ;  in  a  short  time  she  was  afloat,  and  pro- 
ceeded on  her  course  to  land  the  remainder  of  the  troops.  The 
Locust  was  now  free ;  and,  congratulating  our  friends  upon  their 
release,  we  made  all  speed  on  our  return  to  Buenos  Ayres. 

It  gave  me  pleasure  to  be  able  to  render  even  these  small  offices 


LETTER  FROM  THE  MINISTERS.  51 

to  our  brother  sailors  of  Old  England ;  for,  in  the  various  parts 
of  the  world  where  my  professional  duties  have  called  me,  her 
representatives,  whether  diplomatic,  naval,  or  military,  have  uni- 
formly manifested  respect  for  our  flag,  and  extended  to  myself 
personally  every  courtesy  as  an  ofl&cer  of  the  United  States  Navy. 


CHAPTER  in. 

Letter  from  Mr.  Schenck. — Visit  to  the  Estancia  of  General  Urquiza. — Framing 
of  the  Treaty. — Marking  Cattle. — Farm  and  Residence  of  the  Director. — Os- 
triches, Partridges,  and  Deer :  Mode  of  hunting  them.  —  Horses.  —  Return  to 
Buenos  Ayres. — The  Galera. — Reception  at  Concepcion. — The  College. — The 
Ball. — Native  Grace  of  Spanish  American  Women. — Leave  Concepcion. — The 
Water  Witch. — Coaling  at  Buenos  Ayres. — Final  Departure  for  the  Ascent  of 
the  River. 

Upon  our  arrival  at  Buenos  Ayres  I  found  another  letter  await- 
feig  me  from  Messrs.  Pendleton  and  Schenck.    It  ran  as  follows : 

"Legation  of  the  United  States,  ) 
Buenos  Ayres,  July  22d,  1853.    ) 
"To  Captain  Thomas  J.  Page,  U.  S.  Steamer  Water  Witch. 
"  Dear  Sir, — We  wish  very  much  that  you  would  take  us  to-morrow  to 
Gualaguaychu,  or  '  Concepcion  del  Uruguay.'      There  is  no  other  mode  of 
conveyance  by  which  it  is  possible  for  us  to  accomplish  a  highly  important 
public  object,  no  less  than  the  making  of  a  treaty  of  friendship  and  com- 
merce, which,  if  made,  will  f  uUy  accomplish  the  purposes  of  the  special  mis- 
sion to  the  Argentine  States. 

"  It  is  indispensable  that  one  of  us — Mr.  Schenck — leave  for  Rio  in  the 
packet  to  sail  ten  days  hence.  With  the  aid  of  the  Water  Witch,  we  think 
the  business  may  be  done.  Without  it,  there  is  no  possibility  of  our  co- 
operation in  this  work.     Very  respectfully,  &c., 

"ROBERT  C.  SCHENCK, 
"JOHN  S.  PENDLETON." 

I  could  not  hesitate  as  to  the  response,  and  early  the  following 
morning  we  were  steaming  for  Gualaguaychu.  In  two  days  we 
reached  the  nearest  point  to  which  the  Water  Witch  could  ap- 
proach, and'  anchored  off  the  mouth  of  a  river  of  the  same  name. 
I  accompanied  the  ministers  in  a  boat  to  the  town,  a  distance  of 
eighteen  miles. 

Senores  Carill  and  Gorostiaga,  appointed  by  General  Urquiza 
as  negotiators  on  his  part,  were  awaiting  the  arrival  of  our  minis- 
ters.   Under  instructions  from  the  Provisional  Director,  handsome 


52  THE  TREATY. 

preparations  liad  been  made  for  their  reception  and  entertainment 
at  the  government  house. 

Accompanied  by  the  Argentine  ministers,  we  started  the  fol- 
lowing morning  for  the  estancia*  of  Urquiza.  Our  conveyance 
was  a  galera,  a  vehicle  not  unKke  an  omnibus,  and  capable  of 
holding  comfortably  ten  or  twelve  persons ;  the  door  behind ;  it 
was  drawn  by  four  horses,  each  mounted  by  a  gaucho,  and  at  a 
gallop  we  passed  through  a  gently  undulating  country,  clear  of 
wood  save  on  the  margin  of  the  river,  but  covered  with  a  luxu- 
riant growth  of  grass.  After  traveling  about  fifty  miles,  the  dwell- 
ing of  Urquiza  appeared  in  sight. 

Throughout  the  whole  distance  since  leaving  Gualaguaychu  we 
had  been  driving  through  his  estancia,  which  extended  some  ten 
miles  farther,  embracing  in  one  unbroken  section  of  Entre  Eios 
several  hundred  square  miles.  The  soil  is  highly  fertile,  and  the 
cattle,  horses,  mules,  and  sheep  are  superior  to  those  of  any  other 
province  in  the  Confederation.  A  part  of  this  estate  was  tenant- 
ed out,  and  is  appropriated  almost  exclusively  to  grazing ;  but  d 
fine  field  of  wheat  and  thriving  nursery  of  fruit-trees  proved  its 
equal  adaptation  to  agriculture. 

On  reaching  the  house,  a  cordial  reception  awaited  us  from  the 
general,  who  came  forward  as  we  descended  from  the  galera,  and 
received  our  party  with  many  kind  and  courteous  expressions  of 
welcome.  He  knew  that  our  time  was  limited,  and  instructed  his 
ministers  to  use  all  possible  dispatch.  The  work  was  conducted 
in  good  faith,  with  an  eye  to  the  benefit  of  both  countries,  and 
ended  in  the  conclusion  of  a  "treaty  of  friendship  and  com- 
merce," signed  immediately  by  the  "Provisional  Director,"  and 
since  ratified  by  our  government. 

While  the  treaty  was  being  copied,  we  were  much  amused  and 
interested  by  visits  to  various  departments  of  this  great  estate. 
The  day  after  our  arrival,  the  general  proposed  that  we  should 
ride  out  and  see  the  process  of  marking  cattle. 

Mounted  on  beautiful  horses,  a  gallop  of  a  few  miles  brought  us 
in  sight  of  a  large  herd,  around  which  were  stationed  mounted 
gauchos,  each  equipped  with  lasso  and  bolas.f    The  marking  was 

*  A  cattle-farm,  but  not  exclusively  so,  where  there  is  some  cultivation  of  the  soil. 

t  The  lasso  is  of  platted  hide-rope,  about  sixty  feet  in  length,  and  three  quar- 
ters of  an  inch  in  diameter,  attached  to  the  cincka,  or  surcingle  of  the  recado  or 
saddle  at  one  end,  and  has  an  iron  ring  in  the  other,  through  which  a  noose  ia 
formed  when  it  is  to  be  thrown. 

The  "tolas'^  is  of  two  kinds:   that  used  for  catching  cattle  consists  of  three 


MARKING  CATTLE.  55 

effected  by  branding  with  a  bot  iron  upon  the  rump  of  an  animal 
a  letter  or  cbaracter,  wbicb  made  it  the  indisputable  property  of 
a  certain  estanciero.  These  are  registered  in  each  district,  with 
the  names  of  the  owners  attached. 

When  an  animal  is  to  be  caught,  a  gaucho  approaches  the  herd, 
with  one  end  of  the  lasso  attached  to  his  cincha^  holding  the  oth- 
er, which  has  a  large  running  noose,  in  his  right  hand ;  and,  giv- 
ing it  impetus  by  whirling  it  round  his  head,  dexterously  keep- 
ing the  noose  open,  he  throws  it  with  unerring  aim  over  the  horns 
of  the  beast,  and,  wheeling  quickly,  drags  hun  out  to  receive  his 
brand,  the  whole  operation  not  occupying  a  minute.  But  it  must 
not  be  supposed  that  this  is  always  accomplished  without  a  strug- 
gle ;  at  times  the  "  marking"  affords  great  amusement,  at  others 
excitement  and  even  danger.  A  bullock  escapes  from  the  herd, 
chase  is  given,  and  often  continued  for  some  time  before  the  rider 
can  get  within  throwing  distance,  such  is  the  fleetness  of  the  wild 
cattle  of  the  country.  As  the  gaucho  casts  the  lasso,  he  suddenly 
reins  up  his  horse,  while  the  animal  instinctively  braces  himself  to 
receive  the  shock,  and  the  bullock  is  often  thrown  to  the  ground 
with  such  force  as  to  make  it  a  wonder  how  he  escaped  a  broken 
neck.  Then,  again,  on  finding  himself  a  prisoner,  he  will  run 
round  and  round,  dash  first  to  one  side,  then  to  the  other,  plow  up- 
the  ground,  or  turn  and  furiously  attack  the  pursuer,  who,  on  such 
occasions,  never  parts  with  his  lasso,  which  he  would  inevitably 
lose  if  detached  from  his  cincha ;  and  as  he  can  not  disengage  it 
from  the  horns  of  the  animal,  he  manoeuvres  his  horse  with  in- 
conceivable skill,  watching,  following,  and  anticipating  every 
movement  of  his  prisoner  with  the  rapidity  of  lightning,  until  re- 
lieved from  his  perilous  position  by  a  brother  gaucho,  who  throws 
the  lasso  romid  the  hind  legs  of  the  beast. 

After  being  greatly  amused  with  the  "marking,"  we  rode  over 
to  see  the  general's  field  of  luxuriant  wheat,  then  visited  his  nurs- 
ery of  choice  fruits,  and  a  garden  where  many  vegetables  known 
to  our  markets  were  growing  in  perfection. 

His  dwelhng  is  built  of  stone,  and  in  the  massive  style  of  the 

wooden  balls,  or  stones,  about  tbree  inches  in  diameter,  covered  with  raw  hide, 
each  joined  to  the  other  in  a  common  centre  by  a  thong  of  the  same  of  about  three 
feet  in  length.  The  other  is  of  two  balls,  smaller,  and  is  used  to  catch  ostriches. 
The  gaucho  holds  the  smallest  ball  in  his  right  hand,  and,  giving  the  other  two  a 
rapidly  whirling  movement,  throws  them  with  great  velocity  and  unerring  aim  at 
the  legs  of  the  animal ;  and  the  more  he  struggles  to  extricate  himself,  the  more  he 
becomes  entangled. 


56 


URQUIZA'S  ESTANCIA. 


houses  of  Buenos  Ayres.     It  is  of  one  story,  forms  a  quadrangle 
of  about  eighty  feet,  and  contains  eight  or  ten  spacious  and  lofty 


BAN  JOSi;,  THE  BSTANOIA  OP  tTKQiriZA. 

rooms :  from  the  roof  rose  two  handsome  turrets,  commanding  ex- 
tensive views  of  his  estancia.  In  every  direction,  his  own  lands 
extended  far  beyond  the  horizon ;  and  this  was  only  one  of  sev- 
eral estates.  Within  a  few  miles  of  his  house  he  had  forbidden 
his  grounds  to  all  sportsmen ; .  consequently,  herds  of  deer,  ostrich- 
es, and  innumerable  partridges,  large  and  small,  were  seen  in  ev- 
ery direction.  I  counted  as  many  as  fifty  ostriches  in  a  flock, 
some  of  them  in  the  court  of  the  dwelhng,  and  as  tame  as  barn- 
door fowls.  They  are  caught  in  great  numbers ;  the  ostrich  with 
the  bolas,  the  small  partridge  with  the  noose,  and  the  larger  spe- 
cies with  dogs.  The  small  partridge  crouches  close  to  the  ground ; 
a  man  on  horseback,  with  a  long  stick,  at  the  end  of  which  is  a 
noose,  approaches,  and  rides  in  a  circle  round  the  frightened  bird. 
As  if  under  the  influence  of  a  spell,  or  charmed  by  the  man's  eye, 
it  sits  quietly  while  the  rider  gradually  contracts  the  circle,  until 
near  enough  to  sHp  the  noose  over  its  head. 

The  large  partridge  usually  makes  two,  but  occasionally  three 
flights.  On  first  rising  it  is  pursued  at  full  speed  by  the  mounted 
gaucho  and  his  dog ;  for,  while  on  the  wing,  there  is  nothing  to 
hide  it  from  the  eye  of  the  sportsman ;  and  scarcely  has  it  touched 


THE  GALEEA.  59 

the  earth,  wlien  again  it  is  "put  up,"  and,  flying  until  exhausted, 
it  conceals  itself  in  the  long  grass,  where  it  is  ferreted  out  by  the 
dog. 

Some  idea  of  the  income  of  such  an  estancia  as  Urquiza's  may  be 
formed  when  I  state  that  upon  this  of  San  Jose  there  were  70,000 
sheep,  40,000  head  of  cattle,  and  2000  horses.  Among  the  latter 
were  several  Manadas^  of  a  beautifal  mouse  color,  called  Lohuiios^ 
or  "otter-like;"  others  of  Overas,  or  "piebald."  These  studs 
were  carefully  kept  apart,  to  avoid  any  mingling  of  color  or  char- 
acteristic. I  can  not  imagine  a  more  beautiful  sight  than  the  herds 
of  these  fine  animals  coursing  over  the  rich  lands  of  San  Jose. 
The  value  of  each  in  the  United  States  would  reach  some  huud- 
re<ils  of  dollars ;  here  one  could  be  bought  for  sixteen. 

On  the  third  day  after  our  arrival  at  San  Jose,  the  treaty  hav- 
ing been  concluded  and  signed  by  the  "  Provisional  Director,"  we 
prepared  for  our  return  to  Buenos  Ayres.  The  promptness  and 
good  faith  shown  in  this  negotiation  are  worthy  of  praise,  when 
we  remember  that  diplomacy  is  the  forte  of  the  Spanish  American, 
and  that  one  of  their  marked  characteristics  is  to  postpone  for  the 
morrow  that  which  should  be  done  to-day.* 

General  Urquiza  earnestly  desired  that  in  our  return  route  we 
would  stop  a  night  at  Concepcion  del  Uruguay,  the  place  of  his 
birth  and  early  life,  assuring  us  that,  though  the  distance  was 
greater,  we  could  spend  a  night  at  Concepcion,  and  yet  reach 
Gualaguaychu  at  the  time  appointed  for  our  embarkation.  He 
had  well  calculated  the  speed  of  his  own  horses,  and  his  assurance 
was  reahzed  in  our  arrival  at  the  appointed  time. 

A  galera,  drawn  by  four  beautiful  mouse-colored  horses,  each 
mounted  by  a  gaucho  in  full  costume,  was  brought  to  the  door,  its 
lockers  abundantly  supplied  with  wines  and  other  creature  com- 
forts. With  mingled  feehngs  of  respect  and  esteem,  we  bade  adieu 
to  our  distinguished  host,  and,  accompanied  by  Senores  Carill  and 
Grostiaga,  and  escorted  by  a  son  of  General  Urquiza  on  horseback, 
we  moved  rapidly  over  the  undulating  pampa,  stopping  only  to 
change  horses  from  the  herd  of"  lobunos"  driven  for  this  purpose 
ahead  of  us. 

On  our  arrival  at  Concepcion,  a  pretty  town  of  about  4000  in- 
habitants, on  the  Uruguay  Eiver,  and  distant  about  eighteen  miles 
from  San  Jose,  we  were  met  by  the  municipal  authorities  and 
principal  inhabitants,  and  conducted  to  a  spacious  house  prepared 

*  See  Appendix  C  and  D. 


60 


COLLEGE  OF  CONCEPCION. 


for  oiir  reception,  Over  wMch  was  immediately  hoisted  tlie  Amer- 
ican flag.  As  we  entered,  a  band  of  music  in  the  court  played 
our  national  air,  and  continued  afterward  with  operatic  pieces  in 
admirable  style.  In  short,  every  preparation  had  been  made  to 
give  us  a  distinguished  reception.  We  accepted  these  honors  in 
the  spirit  that  dictated  them,  as  a  tribute  of  respect  and  amity  for 
the  United  States. 

Our  first  visit  was  to  the  College,  established  by  Urquiza,  where 
youths  are  educated  at  the  expense  of  the  province.     The  build- 


COLLEGB   OF   OONOBPOION. 


ing  is  handsome  and  commodious,  and  the  benefits  of  this  institu- 
tion are  shared  without  partiality  by  rich  and  poor ;  indeed,  the 
latter  are  more  highly  its  recipients,  for,  in  addition  to  a  liberal 
education,  they  receive  gratis  both  food  and  clothing.  The  pres- 
ident of  the  institution  is  Mr.  La  Eoque,  a  Parisian,  and  the  Pro- 
fessor of  English  Mr.  Clark,  a  graduate  of  an  English  college. 
These  gentlemen,  with  ability,  perseverance,  and  untiring  zeal, 
give  their  best  energies  to  the  work,  and  would,  from  their  per- 
sonal standing  alone,  offer  a  guarantee  for  its  success,  did  we  not 
know  that  their  exertions  are  seconded  by  other  professors,  well 
qualified  for  their  respective  posts.  It  is  now  considered  the  first 
institution  of  the  Confederation,  that  of  Cordova,  formerly  so  cel- 
ebrated, having  dwindled  to  a  mere  provincial  school. 

We  were  conducted  through  the  buildings,  and  saw  enough  to 
convince  us  that  the  arrangements  and  system  were  as  admirable 


KECEPTION  AT  CONCEPCION.  Qi 

for  the  moral  and  j)hysical  as  for  tlie  mental  training  of  the  youth 
— indeed,  quite  equal  to  some  of  the  institutions  of  our  own  coun- 
try. The  philosophical  and  mathematical  apparatus  seemed  full 
and  complete,  and  the  illustrations  of  the  various  mechanical  pow- 
ers excellent.  The  higher  branches  of  mathematics  are  careful- 
ly taught,  together  with  the  classics,  English  and  French,  and  all 
those  branches  with  us  comprehended  in  the  expression  "  good 
English  education."    Attached  to  the  college  is  a  primary  school. 

The  Secretary  of  the  Navy  had  permitted  my  second  son,  a 
youth  twelve  years  old,  to  accompany  the  expedition.  I  afterward 
placed  him  at  this  college,  and  was  gratified  with  his  progress. 

The  benefits  of  a  liberal  education  are  now  eagerly  sought  by 
all  classes,  and  so  numerous  are  the  apphcations  for  admission  to 
this  estabhshment,  which  has  ample  accommodations  for  160  pu- 
pils, that  large  additions  will  probably  be  made  to  its  buildings, 
or  similar  institutions  may  be  opened  in  other  provinces.  Music 
is  one  of  the  branches  taught,  and  we  were  both  surprised  and  de- 
lighted with  the  performances  of  a  band  of  forty  boys.  Among 
them  was  a  youth  whose  genius  was  extraordinary.  He  composed 
with  great  facility,  played  upon  sixteen  instruments,  and  yet  he 
had  never  been  out  of  the  province  of  Entre  Eios. 

This  institution  will  ever  remain  a  noble  monument  of  the  en- 
lightened views  of  Urquiza.  In  educating  its  youth,  he  is  giving 
stabihty  to  the  government  of  a  country  hitherto  at  the  mercy  of 
each  military  chieftain  who  in  turn  aspired  to  rule.  I  must  not 
omit  to  mention  one  fact  communicated  to  me  by  the  president  of 
the  college,  which  reflects  high  honor  on  its  founder.  Occasion- 
ally the  funds  of  the  institution  are  not  adequate  to  its  demands ; 
and  when  its  wants  have  been  made  known  to  General  Urquiza, 
he  has  invariably,  from  his  private  resources,  made  ample  provi- 
sion to  meet  them. 

On  returning  to  the  house  arranged  for  our  reception,  we  found 
a  sumptuous  dinner,  with  abundance  of  fine  wines  and  cigars, 
awaiting  us.  This  was  followed  by  a  ball,  at  which  was  assem- 
bled all  the  beauty  of  the  place.  The  dress  of  the  fair  senoritas 
showed  that,  the  prohibitory  edicts  of  Eosas,  however  severely 
they  may  have  operated  upon  commerce,  had  availed  nothing  in 
secluding  them  from  a  knowledge  of  the  fashions. 

The  Spanish  American  women  have  little  knowledge  of  the 
conventionalities  of  other  countries,  but  they  are  weU  bred  and 
handsome.     With  indescribable  grace  and  precision,  these  ladies 


62  EETUKN  TO  BUENOS  AYRES. 

of  Concepcion  (many  of  wliom  had  never  been  out  of  Entre  Eios) 
went  through  all  the  fashionable  dances  of  the  day,  varying  them 
two  or  three  times  in  the  course  of  the  evening  by  the  Spanish 
contra-dance. 

It  was  expected  that  we  should  be  not  only  spectators,  but  ac- 
tive participators  in  the  festivities  of  the  evening.  Not  to  dance, 
and  dance  well,  would  expose  us  to  the  suspicion  of  neglected 
education.  As  the  diplomatic  and  naval  representatives  of  the 
great  republic  of  the  North,  it  was  necessary  to  avoid  such  an  im- 
putation. We  made  the  effort,  though  we  feared  in  doing  so  that 
what  might  have  been  a  conjecture  would  remain  among  the  fair 
women  of  Entre  Eios  "  a  fixed  fact." 

We  left  Concepcion  del  Uruguay  at  an  early  hour  the  follow- 
ing morning,  and,  at  full  gallop,  continued  our  journey  in  the 
galera.  Our  way  still  lay  through  the  estancia  of  General  Ur- 
quiza,  but  in  a  different  direction  from  that  by  which  we  entered. 
The  character  of  the  country  was  materially  the  same,  herds  of 
deer,  flocks  of  ostriches,  and  innumerable  partridges  alone  break 
ing  the  monotony  of  the  pampa  scenery. 

Arrived  at  Gualaguaychu,  we  lost  no  time  in  procuring  a  sail- 
boat, hoping  to  reach  the  Water  Witch  that  night ;  but,  on  getting 
to  the  mouth  of  the  river,  we  found  the  wind  too  high  to  attempt 
a  "  dead  beat,"  our  steamer  being  near  the  opposite  shore  of  the 
Banda  Oriental,*  distant  about  six  miles. 

It  was  the  last  of  July,  the  second  winter  month  of  this  lati- 
tude ;  strong  south  winds  made  the  night  really  cold,  and  our 
situation  in  the  open  boat  for  many  hours  was  not  only  one  of 
discomfort,  but  positive  suffering.  On  reaching  the  Water  Witch 
the  next  morning,  and  finding  all  ready,  we  weighed  anchor  for 
Buenos  Ay  res,  with  the  earnest  hope  that  nothing  would  again 
occur  to  divert  us  from  the  objects  of  the  expedition. 

The  Water  Witch  was  nominally  one  of  the  vessels  of  the 
squadron  on  the  Brazil  station,  and,  though  really  detached  for 
specific  purposes,  it  has  been  shown  that  circumstances  made  it 
imperative  that  she  should  perform  the  duties  of  one  in  the  ab- 
sence of  all  other  vessels,  and  in  cases  where  public  interests  were 
deeply  involved.  Mr.  Kennedy,  then  Secretary  of  the  Navy, 
with  enlightened  views,  and  a  liberal  exercise  of  the  authority 
vested  in  him,  detailed  her  for  the  scientific  work  on  which  she 

*  The  East  Side,  another  name  for  the  State  of  Uruguay. 


UNDER  WAY.  go 

was  about  to  enter  witli  simply  such  additions  to  her  ordinary 
outfit  as  a  few  books,  instruments,  and  materials  for  the  preser- 
vation of  specimens  of  natural  history,  which  could  be  supplied 
from  the  contingent  fund  of  the  department,  in  the  absence  of 
any  appropriation  by  Congress.  With  no  scientific  corps  on 
board,  and  only  one  or  two  officers  over  and  above  her  ordinary 
complement,  in  a  few  weeks  after  she  was  launched  from  the 
navy  yard  of  Washington  we  were  steaming  for  La  Plata. 

On  reaching  Buenos  Ayres,  I  learned  from  the  "consul"  the 
arrival  at  Montevideo  of  a  cargo  of  coal,  sent  out  by  the  govern- 
ment for  the  use  of  the  expedition,  and  at  once  j)roceeded  to  that 
place.  We  entered  the  harbor  in  the  midst  of  a  violent  pampero, 
which  continued  for  some  days.  After  the  storm,  we  took  on 
board  as  much  coal  as  the  steamer  could  carry,  deposited  a  small 
quantity  on  shore,  and  made  arrangements  for  the  transportation 
of  the  remainder  to  some  point  on  the  Parana.  The  freight  de- 
manded for  this  latter  service  was  so  exorbitant — $12  per  ton — that 
I  found  it  cheaper  to  purchase  a  hulk  of  sufiS.cient  capacity  to  re- 
ceive it  all.  Taking  this  in  tow,  I  afterward  established  it  as  a 
depot  at  the  town  of  La  Paz,  in  Entre  Eios,  distant  about  four 
hundred  miles  above  Martin  Garcia.  This  we  found  to  be  a  con- 
venient point  for  coaling,  either  in  ascending  or  descending  the 
river. 

After  a  diversion  of  nearly  four  months  from  the  legitimate 
work  of  the  expedition,  I  now,  for  the  first  time,  realized  that  we 
were  fairly  under  way  for  the  scene  of  our  labors.  I  had  the  sat- 
isfaction of  knowing  that  the  time  had  been  usefully  spent  in  for- 
warding the  diplomatic  aims  of  the  government,  and  in  protecting 
the  interests  of  American  citizens. 


64  TAKING  OBSEEVATIONS. 


CHAPTER  lY. 

Chronometers. — Determinations  of  Latitude  and  Longitude. — Construction  of 
Charts. —  Delta  of  the  Parana. — Diamante. — Fruits. —  Oranges. — Peaches. — 
Beautiful  Scenery. — Mouths  of  the  Parana. — The  Parbon. — The  Gualaguay. — 
TheRepunte. — Periodical  Risings  of  Water. — Islands. — The  Seibo  and  Sause. — 
San  Pedro. — Obligardo. — Passage  forced  by  the  English  and  French. — Island 
Formations. — Variations  of  Channel. — Pilots. — Estancieros. — San  Nicholas. — 
Rosario. — Its  commercial  Importance. — Advantages  over  Buenos  Ayres. — Winds. 
— Letter  of  R.  B.  Forbes,  Esq. — Banks  of  the  River. — Convent  of  San  Lorenzo. — 
The  Tercero. — Mr.  Campbell's  Survey. — The  Chaco  Hills. — Scenery. — Diaman- 
te.— Ferries. — Trees. — The  Algarroba  and  Espinilla. 

Taking  our  departure  from  Buenos  Ayres,  tlie  point  to  which 
all  determinations  of  longitude  were  to  be  referred,  we  passed  the 
island  of  Martin  Garcia  September  1st,  1853.  The  rates  of  the 
chronometers  had  been  repeatedly  verified,  and  they  were  found 
to  be  uniform  in  every  instance.  The  work  was  consequently  be- 
gun with  every  confidence  in  the  excellence  of  the  instruments. 
These  chronometers,  five  in  number,  had  been  selected  by  the  Su- 
perintendent of  the  Naval  Observatory  for  this  special  service. 

That  the  character  of  the  work  in  its  explorations  and  surveys 
may  be  fully  understood,  even  by  those  unpracticed  in  such  oper- 
ations, it  may  be  proper  to  explain  somewhat  in  detail  the  manner 
in  which  it  was  conducted. 

That  portion  of  it  under  the  head  of  "  Surveys,"  which  may  be 
seen  on  the  map,  is  established  on  points  of  latitude  and  longitude 
determined  with  care  by  ofiicers  who  were  competent  observers, 
and  with  nicely-adjusted  instruments.  The  latitude  of  these  points 
is  derived  from  observations  of  north  and  south  stars  on  the  merid- 
ian, their  longitude  by  chronometer  from  stars  east  and  west  of  the 
meridian  and  from  the  altitude  of  the  sun,  and  the  variation  of 
the  compass  from  observations  of  the  sun.  These  were  made  with 
the  sextant  and  artificial  horizon.  Those  made  during  the  day 
were  always  taken  on  shore ;  but  at  night,  so  perfectly  motionless 
was  the  steamer  that  no  difficulty  was  experienced  in  observing 
the  stars  with  the  artificial  horizon  on  the  hurricane-deck.  The 
place  of  anchorage  was  thus  determined  every  night,  whensoever 
the  weather  would  allow ;  and  none  of  the  principal  points  were 
passed  without  coming  to  anchor,  and  obtaining  satisfactory  re- 


CONSTRUCTION  OF  CHARTS.  65 

suits  for  tlie  establisliment  of  their  geographical  position  and  va- 
riation of  the  compass.  We  arrived  at  the  distances  between  the 
points  thus  determined  by  reference  to  a  uniform  number  of  rev- 
olutions of  the  engine,  which,  in  a  given  time,  had  been  ascertain- 
ed to  be  equal,  or  nearly  so,  to  a  certain  distance.  Any  erroneous 
estimate  that  had  been  made  could  not  extend  beyond  the  jDoint 
of  observation,  so  that  there  was  at  all  times  a  check  upon  any 
error  of  judgment  or  irregularity  in  the  speed  of  the  steamer. 

That  the  charts  should  give  as  faithful  a  representation  of  the 
rivers  and  adjacent  country  as  the  character  of  the  work  would 
admit  of,  there  were  at  all  times,  when  the  steamer  was  under  way, 
two  officers  engaged  in  it  exclusive  of  myself 

An  elevated  position  on  the  hurricane-deck,  which  gave  an  un- 
obstructed view,  was  selected  for  this  purpose.  One  of  the  ob- 
servers, with  the  chart-paper  before  him,  projected  the  course  and 
distance,  the  width  and  depth  of  the  river,  delineating  the  topog- 
raphy on  either  bank,  while  the  other  recorded  the  same  in  his 
note-book,  together  with  all  such  remarks  as  would  illustrate  more 
clearly  any  peculiar  characteristic,  such  as  the  growth  on  the  banks, 
whether  suitable  for  steamers  or  for  other  purposes.  The  sound- 
ings were  made  at  intervals  of  five  minutes  when  in  deep  water, 
but  when  in  shoal  as  often  as  they  could  be  had.  The  velocity  of 
the  current,  which  varied  with  the  locality,  was  repeatedly  ascer- 
tained. 

I  have  before  alluded  to  the  island  of  Martin  Garcia  as  a  mili- 
tary position  of  some  importance,  from  its  commanding  what  was 
supposed  to  be  the  most  considerable  channel  of  communication 
between  the  waters  of  the  Parana  and  La  Plata,  It  is  of  granitic 
formation,  and  occupies  a  position  at  the  head  of  "La  Plata"  where 
this  river  is  twenty-five  miles  wide,  and  yet  at  its  narrowest  point. 
Here  also  it  receives  its  two  great  affluents,  the  Parana  and  Uru- 
guay, their  waters  uniting  about  twenty-four  miles  above  this  isl- 
and, and  retaining  the  name  of  the  latter  until  lost  in  that  of  "  La 
Plata." 

The  Parana  is  the  more  important  of  the  two,  and  possesses 
already  a  far  more  extended  navigation,  and  affluents  that  present 
a  vast  field  for  exploration.  We  first  entered  its  waters  through 
the  main  branch,  "  Parana  Guazu." 

All  vessels  "  bound  up"  either  the  Parana  or  Uruguay  by  this 
channel  must  pass  within  range  of  "  Martin  Garcia."  Exclusive 
of  this  and  the  one  of  greater  depth  subsequently  revealed  by  the 

5 


QQ  DELTA  OF  THE  PARANA. 

surveys  of  the  "Water  Witch,  there  are  two  other  branches,  the 
"  Brasso  Bravo"  and  "  Brasso  Largo,"  farther  north,  through  which 
this  river  flows  into  the  Uruguay,  and  others  of  less  importance 
to  navigation,  through  which  it  communicates  directly  with  La 
Plata.  The  principal,  and  only  one  of  these  latter  worthy  of  note, 
and  which  wi]l  become,  when  its  entrance  shall  be  better  known, 
generally  used  by  vessels  of  six  and  seven  feet  draught,  is  the 
passage  of  Las  Palmas,  the  branch  through  which  Sebastian  Cabot 
entered  the  waters  of  the  Parana,  and  to  which  he  gave  the  name 
it  now  bears. 

A  delta  of  vast  extent  is  formed  by  the  various  branches  of  this 
river.  Its  apex,  at  the  town  of  Diamante  in  Entre  Rios,  is  distant 
from  its  base  in  a  right  line  one  hundred  and  seventy-eight  miles, 
while  its  base,  the  line  on  which  these  branches  empty  into  the 
River  La  Plata  and  Uruguay,  is  about  forty  miles  in  extent. 

Diamante  is  assumed  as  the  apex  of  this  delta,  because  at  that 
point,  in  ascending,  we  find,  for  the  first  time,  by  the  approach  of 
the  firm,  elevated  lands,  the  width  of  the  river  contracted  to  one 
mile.  To  give  a  minute  description  of  the  innumerable  small 
branches  up  to  this  apex,  to  follow  them  through  their  windings, 
would  tend  only  to  perplex  the  reader.  They  nevertheless  serve 
a  useful  purpose  by  giving  access  to  a  labyrinth  of  islands,  the 
wild  fruits  and  charcoal  of  which  lead  to  quite  an  extensive  trade 
with  Buenos  Ayres. 

During  the  season,  the  fruiterers  lay  their  barks  against  the 
banks,  and  load  from  the  overhanging  peach  and  orange  trees. 
This  latter  fruit  is  bitter,  and  used  only  for  preserving,  or  making 
a  very  popular  drink,  which,  in  the  course  of  time,  becomes  pleas- 
antly acidulated. 

The  peaches  are  of  excellent  quality,  and  constitute  a  large  por- 
tion of  the  supply  of  the  Buenos  Ayrean  market.  These  fruits 
are  not  found  on  the  low  and  frequently  submerged  islands  which 
border  the  main  channel-way — the  Parana  Guazu — but  grow 
abundantly  upon  those  in  the  vicinity  of  the  pass  of  Las  Palmas, 
and  near  the  various  other  branches  used  only  by  small  vessels. 

In  the  province  of  Buenos  Ayres  the  peach  is  much  cultivated 
for  fire-wood,  and  a  tree  of  three  years  yields  no  indifferent  supply 
of  both  fruit  and  fuel.  Its  growth  in  the  wild  and  free  islands  of 
the  Parana,  and  the  perfection  of  its  fruit  without  culture,  are  facts 
too  extraordinary  not  to  impress  a  stranger,  who  naturally  asks 
the  origin  of  trees  well  known  not  to  be  indigenous.     My  inquiries 


FRUITS.— SCENERY.  (57 

on  this  point  were  invariably  answered  by  Qiden  sahef — "Who 
knows?"  Some  of  the  more  intelligent  natives  trace  them  to  the 
forecast  of  the  Jesuits ;  others  to  the  boatmen  who,  prior  to  the 
Jesuits,  frequented  these  islands,  and  may,  without  jjurpose,  have 
cast  around  the  seeds.  Again,  their  propagation  is  ascribed  to  the 
migration  of  birds  and  beasts  from  the  main  land.  This  we  doubt, 
for  among  the  many  isles  of  the  Parana  delta  there  are  others  of 
the  same  formation  and  age — -judging  from  their  strata — on  which 
no  fruits  are  to  be  found.  So  vast  is  the  yield  of  th^  trees,  that 
Buenos  Ayres  is  not  only  supplied  with  fresh  fruit  during  the 
season,  but  quantities  are  dried.  Some  enterprising  citizens  have 
also  manufactured  from  them  brandy  of  excellent  quality;  but 
this,  like  many  other  industrial  projects  in  that  country,  has  not 
been  continued  with  perseverance  or  energy.  When  improved 
by  grafting,  inoculation,  or  the  smallest  degree  of  culture,  the  fruit 
matures  to  very  great  perfection. 

Toward  the  close  of  our  work,  these  branches  of  the  Parana  be- 
came the  scene  of  operations  during  fruit  season.  A  more  en- 
chanting spectacle  than  was  presented  at  that  time  by  these  isl- 
ands can  scarcely  be  imagined.  Poets  would  have  reveled  in  it 
as  a  scene  of  paradisiacal  beauty.  The  lower  banks  were  fringed 
with  aquatic  plants ;  the  little  channels  were  shaded  by  the  wil- 
low, whose  long,  drooping  branches  dipped  gracefully  into  the  wa- 
ters, and  formed  archways,  under  which  the  boatmen  moored  their 
craft  for  the  convenience  of  the  siesta.  On  all  sides  the  vegeta- 
tion was  tropical  in  its  luxuriance,  and  the  air  was  laden  with  del- 
icate odors.  The  eye  would  have  been  fatigued  by  the  gorgeous 
mingling  of  colors  presented  by  the  rich  foliage  of  the  *'  seibo," 
the  flower  and  fruit  of  the  orange-tree,  the  ripe  tints  of  the  peach, 
the  brilliant  bloom  of  various  shrubs  and  parasitical  jDlants,  had  it 
not  been  reheved  by  a  verdure  as  refreshing  as  it  was  varied  in 
its  shades. 

The  general  course  of  the  Parana  from  its  mouth  to  the  town 
of  Rosario  in  Santa  F^ — one  hundred  and  eighty-eight  miles — is 
northwest ;  thence,  up  to  its  confluence  with  the  Paraguay — six 
hundred  and  ninety  miles — north,  and  a  little  easterly. 

We  began  our  work,  as  before  stated,  by  ascertaining  its  main 
channel,  the  Guazu,  which,  at  its  confluence  with  the  Uruguay, 
may  be  said  to  bisect  the  base  of  the  Delta,  there  being  north  of  it 
the  Brasso  Largo  and  Brasso  Bravo,  and  south  of  it  the  pass  of 
Las  Palmas  and  Arroyo  Capitan.     This  last  branch,  though  nar- 


68  AFFLUENTS  OF  LA  PLATA. 

row  and  shallow,  is  important  as  offering  a  water-communication 
to  the  main  or  firm  lands  of  the  State  of  Buenos  Ayres,  which  it 
skirts  for  some  distance  northward,  enters  the  pass  of  Las  Pal- 
mas,  and  thence  becomes  the  most  southern  branch  for  miles. 
A  narrow  canal-like  stream  sets  off  from  it,  under  the  name  of 
the  Baradero,  and,  washing  the  firm  lands,  joins  the  main  river 
a  mile  or  two  below  the  town  of  San  Pedro,  distant  from  Martin 
Garcia  about  one  hundred  and  two  miles. 

From  thia^  pomt  to  the  apex  of  the  Delta  the  main  river  be- 
comes its  southern  and  western  boundary.  The  most  northern 
branches,  forming  at  different  distances  the  northern  side,  which 
is  bounded  ia  that  direction  by  the  province  of  Entre  Kios,  are, 
beginning  from  the  Eiver  Uruguay,  the  Brasso  Largo  and  the 
Brasso  Bravo ;  the  main  river  to  the  distance  of  twenty -five  miles 
is  the  "  Parbon,"  and  the  "  Parana  Cito."  This  last,  though  tortu- 
ous, narrow,  and  shallow,  possesses  advantages  similar  to  those  of 
the  Arroya  Capitan  and  Baradero,  and  branches  ofi"  from  the  main 
river  at  the  point  we  have  assumed  as  the  apex  of  the  Delta,  a 
few  miles  below  Diamante.       . 

The  Parbon  is  of  great  importance,  being  of  sufficient  depth  for 
any  class  of  vessels  that  could  possibly  enter  the  river,  and  skirts 
throughout  its  extent  the  firm  lands  of  Entre  Kios. 

The  Kiver  Gualaguay,  which  takes  its  rise  in  the  interior  of  the 
province,  and  empties  into  the  Parbon,  affords  navigation  for  ves- 
sels of  six  feet  draught  up  to  the  port  of  entry  of  the  town  of 
Gualaguay,  which  is  about  thirty-five  miles  from  its  mouth.  It 
passes  through  a  portion  of  the  province  particularly  rich  in  pas- 
ture-lands and  stocked  with  fine  breeds  of  cattle. 

We  entered  the  Parana  at  the  season  of  loio  water;  and 
throughout  the  distance  known  as  the  Delta,  which  by  the  course 
of  the  river  is  two  hundred  and  forty -five  miles  from  its  mouth, 
the  least  depth  of  water  was  sixteen  feet,  from  which  it  varied 
to  one  hundred  and  five  feet;  the  width  is  from  one  half  to 
two  and  a  half  miles,  exclusive  of  its  various  branches,  which  at 
some  points  extend  it,  from  firm  land  to  firm  land,  twelve  miles. 
The  character  of  the  bottom  is  sandy,  saVe  where  the  current  is 
too  weak  to  retain  its  detritus  in  a  floating  state.  The  velocity  of 
the  current  is  two  and  a  half  miles  the  hour.  The  rise  begins  in 
December,  and  continues  at  the  daily  rate  of  two  inches  until 
about  the  middle  of  February,  when  it  will  have  attaiaed  its  max- 
imum, remaining,  with  a  httle  variation,  at  this  state  for  a  month 


BRANCHES  AND  ISLANDS.  69 

or  more,  when  it  begins  to  fall,  and  descends  to  its  minimum 
point  in  June  or  July,  at  wliicli  it  remains  until  the  month  of  Oc- 
tober. 

During  this  month  there  is  a  partial  rise  of  about  six  feet,  called 
the  "Eepunte;"  this  continues  about  a  month,  when  the  river 
subsides  again  to  its  lowest  state.  These  periodical  changes  are 
caused  by  the  tropical  rains  of  a  vast  region  of  Brazil,  where 
many  of  the  tributaries  which  swell  the  main  river  take  their  rise. 

It  is  well  for  all  the  practical  purposes  of  navigation  that  the 
waters  of  the  Parana  are  so  subdivided:  its  numerous  branches 
of  course  diminish  the  strength  of  the  current,  which,  if  not  weak- 
ened by  this  distribution,  would  be  a  great  obstacle  in  its  ascent. 
Steam,  but  recently  introduced  upon  its  waters,  will  give  a  vast 
impulse  to  navigation,  reducing  a  passage  of  eighty  days  by  sail- 
ing vessels  to  twelve  by  this  powerful  agent. 

These  branches  constitute,  exclusive  of  many  of  very  minor  im- 
portance, the  prmcipal  courses  through  which  the  Parana  dis- 
charges its  great  body  of  water  into  La  Plata. 

I  have  alluded  to  its  numerous  islands,  some  of  them  %f  such 
recent  formation  as  to  be  nameless.  They  gradually  rise  with  the 
dej)osits  of  successive  inundations  and  the  accumulation  of  vege- 
table matter  until  they  present  a  surface  above  high  water.  Those 
in  the  vicinity  of  "Las  Palmas"  are,  as  I  have  stated,  valuable  for 
their  fruits;  and  as  we  ascended,  those  of  older  formation  were 
found  well  wooded.  Besides  these,  there  are  many  frequently  sub- 
merged, but  covered  with  a  thick  mass  of  the  shrubs,  plants,  and 
trees  only  that  love  humidity,  such  as  the  "seibo,"  willow,  alder; 
the  latter  not  only  remarkable  for  its  impenetrable  foliage,  but  as 
being  the  shrub — it  can  scarcely  be  called  a  tree — which  succeeds 
the  paja  grande^  a  wiry  grass,  the  first  growth  of  the  newly-formed 
island.  The  seibo,*  though  a  spongy  wood,  useless  for  fuel,  adds 
vastly  to  the  beauty  of  the  vegetation ;  its  rich  blossoms  would 
make  it,  with  us,  the  pride  of  ornamental  grounds.  The  sause, 
or  willow,  is  considered  inferior  for  fael,  though  used  for  that  pur- 
pose, and  is  the  third  indigenous  growth,  rooting  out  the  alder 
and  taking  its  place. 

*  Dobrizhoffer  says  of  this  tree,  vol.  i.,  p.  399,  "  A  spongy  weed,  as  soft  as  that  of 
the  cork-tree,  so  that  when  fresh  it  may  be  cut  with  a  knife  like  an  apple,  but  after 
it  is  dry  axes  are  not  sufficient  to  hew  it.  *  *  *  *  Whenever  the  tiger  feels 
his  claws  burn,  he  is  said  to  rub  them  against  the  bark  of  this  tree  to  relieve  the 
pain." 


70  SAN  PEDRO.— OBLIGADO.' 

In  tlie  ascent  of  the  river  up  to  tlie  vicinity  of  San  Pedro,  a  dis- 
tance of  one  hundred  and  thirty  miles  from  its  mouth,  the  view  is 
bounded  by  this  labyrinth  of  islands.  From  the  mast-head  of  the 
steamer,  an  elevation  of  sixty  feet,  nothing  else  was  to  be  seen. 
It  was  a  wilderness  of  fohage  and  flora.  Enriched  by  an  exuber- 
ant vegetation  and  enlivened  by  innumerable  water-fowl,  these 
islands  were  imposing  features  in  the  Parana  scenery. 

Approaching  San  Pedro,  we  came  in  sight  of  the  firm  lands  of 
the  province  of  Buenos  Ayres,  a  continuation  of  the  argillo-calca- 
reous  plateau  upon  which  that  city  stands.  The  town  is  upon 
this  high  land,  the  level  of  a  surrounding  pampa  country  of  vast 
extent.  Though  its  existence  dates  from  the  middle  of  the  sev- 
enteenth century,  it  has  but  a  population  of  two  thousand  souls, 
and  contains  nothing  of  note,  unless  we  may  except  a  church 
erected  by  the  Jesuits. 

The  position  of  San  Pedro  is  by  no  means  inviting  to  trade,  be- 
ing on  an  arm  of  the  river  which  will  not  admit  of  approach  to  the 
shore  save  in  very  small  craft.  It  can  never,  I  think,  rise  to  the 
rank  of  a  commercial  port ;  its  intermediate  position  between  two 
cities,  which  will  probably  monopolize  a  vast  deal  of  the  trade  of 
La  Plata — Rosario  and  Buenos  Ayres — will  make  it  only  a  con- 
sumer of  their  importations. 

On  leaving  San  Pedro,  this  elevated  land — as  it  appears  from 
the  river,  though  on  a  level  with  the  surrounding  pampa — contin- 
ues on  to  the  northward  and  westward,  at  times  diverging,  again 
approaching  the  river,  from  which  it  appears  a  high  bluff. 

At  Obligado,  eleven  miles  above  San  Pedro,  the  river  contracts 
to  a  width  of  less  than  half  a  mile,  bringing  the  channel  within 
musket-range  of  the  right  bank.  Again,  from  this  point,  the  land 
is  depressed,  presenting  a  gently  undulating  surface  richly  covered 
with  native  clover  and  grass,  on  which  were  grazing  vast  herds  of 
cattle  and  horses. 

The  commanding  position  of  Obligado  was  not  overlooked  by 
Rosas,  who,  intent  upon  carrying  out  his  scheme  of  effectually 
closing  these  rivers,  and  determined  to  present  a  formidable  re- 
sistance to  a  forced  navigation,  erected  in  1845  a  battery  on  the 
right  bank,  which  was  placed  under  the  command  of  his  brother- 
in-law,  General  Mancilla.  But  neither  the  defenses  on  land,  nor 
the  iron  obstruction — a  chain  thrown  across  the  river — could  with- 
stand the  courage  and  determination  of  the  French  and  English. 
Mancilla  obstinately  disputed  the  passage  to  the  steamers  of  the 


ALTERATION  IN  CHANNEL.  71 

combined  squadrons,  which  had  under  convoy  a  large  fleet  of  mer- 
chantmen, with  rich  cargoes,  destined  for  Corrientes.  An  Enghsh 
vessel  steamed  up  to  the  chain  stretched  from  shore  to  shore,  and, 
under  a  deadly  fire  from  the  batteries,  lifted  it  to  her  bows  and 
severed  it,  while  the  captain  of  the  French  steamer,  acting  in  strict 
accordance  with  his  instructions  "  not  to  land  an  armed  force,"  laid 
his  vessel  close  alongside  the  most  eflQ.cient  water-battery,  and  with 
shell  and  grape  drove  its  defenders  from  their  guns.  The  passage 
was  effected,  but  with  the  loss  of  many  lives,  and  the  convoy  pro- 
ceeded on  to  its  destination,  where  the  merchantmen  made  a  prof- 
itable exchange  and  sale  of  cargo. 

To  carry  the  reader  through  the  labyrinth  of  channels  and  isl- 
lands — to  enumerate  the  latter,  or  describe  the  changes  which  take 
place  annually,  would  afford  little  interest.  Some  of  these,  how- 
ever, are  too  remarkable  not  to  deserve  special  notice. 

About  five  miles  above  San  Nicholas  there  is  a  small  island  of 
such  recent  formation  as  to  be  nameless.  A  few  years  since  it  was 
joined  to  the  main  land,  on  the  right  bank,  by  a  low,  marshy  slip 
of  land;  now  there  is  a  wide  separation,  and  a  channel  of  eighteen 
feet  water.  A  few  miles  above,  it  was  necessary  for  the  Water 
Witch,  when  we  ascended  the  river,  to  pass  east  of  the  island  of 
Montiel,  around  which  the  river  flowed  in  a  semicircle ;  in  less 
than  two  years  subsequently  the  passage  west  of  that  island  had 
become  a  channel  of  thirty  feet  depth. 

These  changes  facilitate  the  navigation  of  the  river  as  often  as 
they  embarrass  or  retard  it.  In  the  instance  just  cited,  the  first 
circuitous  route  embraced  sixteen  points  of  the  compass,  and  a 
distance  of  sixteen  miles,  while  the  latter  is  accomplished  by  one 
course,  and  a  distance  of  one  and  a  half  miles.  Our  charts  will 
exhibit  the  changes  which  took  place  between  the  years  1847  and 
1853.  In  the  former  year  her  Britannic  majesty's  steamer  Philo- 
mel, under  the  command  of  Captain  Sullivan,  ascended  the  Parana 
to  Corrientes.  These  changes  are  caused  by  the  periodical  inun- 
dations, and,  as  I  have  before  stated,  embarrass  the  navigation  less 
than  might  be  expected. 

The  pilots  are  generally  skillful,  and  from  habit  observant. 
They  sometimes  exhibit  wonderful  acuteness  of  perception  in  de- 
tecting, simply  by  inspection,  any  change  that  may  have  occurred 
in  the  direction  of  the  channel. 

From  San  Pedro  to  Kosario,  a  distance  of  ninety  miles,  the  char- 
acter of  the  river  remains  unchanged.     The  right  bank  is  a  con- 


72  SAN  NICHOLAS.— EOSARIO. 

tinuation  of  the  higli  land  of  wlaicli  I  have  spoken  as  extending 
from  Buenos  Ayres.  It  is  approached  at  short  intervals  by  the 
windings  of  the  river,  and  presents  precipitous  banks  of  indurated 
clay,  varying  in  height  from  fifty  to  one  hundred  feet ;  the  sur- 
face soil  one  and  a  half  to  two  feet  in  depth,  of  rich  black  earth, 
covered  with  luxurious  pastures,  upon  which  roved  herds  of  cat- 
tle and  horses — diminished,  it  is  true,  by  the  internal  dissensions 
which  for  many  years  have  agitated  the  country,  but  still  existing 
in  vast  numbers,  and  constituting  the  wealth  of  the  estancieros,  or 
graziers. 

The  richest  of  these  extensive  land-holders  luxuriate  in  the  en- 
joyment of  city  life  at  Buenos  Ayres,  leaving  the  entire  manage- 
ment of  their  estancias  to  capitazes*  Each  estancia  embraces 
many  square  leagues,  extending  along  the  firm  lands  of  the  river : 
they  are  indicated  by  the  cattle,  and  by  the  very  humble  tenements 
of  the  capitaz  and  his  herdsmen. 

Intermediate  between  the  two  towns  San  Pedro  and  Rosario, 
stands  the  unimportant  village  of  San  Nicholas,  the  most  northern 
frontier  settlement  of  Buenos  Ayres  upon  the  river.  The  little 
stream  of  Arroyo  del  Medio,  which  is  about  two  miles  north  of  it, 
forms  the  boundary,  so  far  as  it  goes,  between  the  states  of  Buenos 
Ayres  and  Santa  Fe,  the  most  southern  province  of  the  Argentine 
Confederation,  bordering  on  the  right  bank  of  the  Parana.  On  the 
left  are  low  lands,  broken  by  picturesque  lagoons,  enlivened  occa- 
sionally by  a  cloud  of  aquatic  birds.  The  black-necked  swan, 
geese,  and  ducks  abound  in  great  variety, 

Rosario,  fifty-two  miles  from  San  Nicholas,  is  eligibly  placed  on 
the  same  plateau  to  which  I  have  alluded  so  often,  an  elevation 
remarkable  in  the  uniformity  of  its  character.  It  is  in  the  prov- 
ince of  Santa  Fe,  and,  I  think,  destined  to  become  a  place  of  great 
commercial  importance. 

At  the  commencement  of  our  survey,  in  September,  1853,  this 
town,  like  all  others  of  the  Confederation,  was  only  tributary  to 
Buenos  Ayres.  It  then  contained  a  population  of  four  thousand 
souls.  Before  the  expedition  had  left  the  waters  of  La  Plata  in 
1855,  it  had  increased  to  twelve  thousand,  an  augmentation  which 
shows  the  healthful  influence  of  trade  upon  the  prosperity  of  this 
country.  Upon  the  reorganization  of  the  Confederacy,  Buenos 
Ayres  refused  to  join  it,  and  Rosario  was  then  declared  a  port 
of  entry.     Its  position  will  probably  make  it  a  mart  for  all  the 

*  Stewards  or  overseers. 


EOSARIO.  73 

imports  and  exports  of  the  eleven  provinces  west  of  tlie  Pa- 
rana. 

Without  due  reflection  or  accurate  geographical  knowledge  of 
the  country,  the  interior  position  of  Rosario — two  hundred  miles 
from  Buenos  Ayres,  and  nearly  four  hundred  from  the  ocean — 
might  be  alleged,  with  some  reason,  as  excluding  it  from  a  suc- 
cessful competition  with  that  city ;  but  when  we  consider  the  va- 
rious influences  affecting  both  places,  Rosario,  even  with  less  cap- 
ital, a  small  population,  and  without  the  habits  or  antecedents 
of  trade,  bids  fair  to  compete  successfully  for  a  portion  of  the  for- 
eign commerce,  and  certainly  ofiers  larger  returns  to  those  whose 
enterprise  may  tempt  them  to  become  commercial  pioneers  in  that 
quarter.  Its  interior  position  can  present  no  permanent  obstacle 
to  the  direction  of  trade ;  and,  aided  by  governmental  influence, 
and  by  the  certain  prospect  of  connection  by  railway  with  Cor- 
dova, more  than  three  hundred  miles  west,  Buenos  Ayres  may 
well  regard  its  future  with  watchful  jealousy. 

By  the  introduction  of  steam,  distance  is  annihilated ;  and  Bu- 
enos Ayres,  though  she  may  become  the  first  city  of  South  Amer- 
ica, with  only  a  share  of  the  trade  of  La  Plata,  can  no  longer  ex- 
pect to  monopolize  the  business  of  a  country  whose  extent  and  re- 
sources are  sufficient  to  support  hundreds  of  flourishing  commer- 
cial towns. 

The  route  of  the  railway  to  Cordova*  has  already  been  surveyed 
by  Mr.  Allen  Campbell,  of  the  United  States,  who  has  had  much 
experience  as  an  engineer  in  Spanish  America,  where  he  enjoys  a 
high  reputation.  He  pronounces  it  not  only  practicable,  and  of- 
fering a  profitable  investment  of  capital,  but  as  one  of  the  most 
effectual  modes  of  developing  the  resources  of  the  fruitful  provinces 
of  the  West,  heretofore  almost  unknown,  not  only  in  the  trade, 
but  in  the  geography  of  the  world.  It  would  be  an  iron  bond 
between  the  eastern  and  western  provinces  not  easily  severed. 

There  are  considerations  which  would  make  Rosario,  even  when 
approached  by  sailing  vessels,  quite  as  accessible  from  the  Atlantic 
as  Buenos  Ayres.  The  difference  of  time  in  loading  and  dis- 
charging cargo  is  decidedly  in  favor  of  the  former.  These  diffi- 
culties at  Buenos  Ayres  are  too  well  known  to  the  commercial 
community  to  need  from  me  much  illustration.  The  southeast 
winds,  agitating  the  wide  expanse  of  the  river  at  that  point,  pro- 
duce so  high  a  sea  that,  during  their  prevalence,  no  vessel  can  ei- 
ther discharge  or  receive  cargo. 

*  See  route  of  this  road  on  map. 


74  EOSARIO. 

The  winds  wliicli  create  this  sea  are  the  fairest  for  the  ascent  of 
the  river,  and  good  for  the  beat  down  with  the  current.  In  forty- 
eight  hours,  or  less,  a  vessel  with  a  southerly  wind  should  reach 
Rosario  from  the  latitude  of  Buenos  Ayres,  off  Martin  Garcia,  or 
any  neighboring  anchorage.  Arrived  there,  no  detention  depend- 
ent upon  the  winds  can  occur.  With  anchor  in  the  stream  and 
breasting-lines  upon  land,  a  vessel  may  be  laid  near  enough  to 
shore  to  make  a  plank  a  safe  pathway.  With  the  erection  of 
wharves,  the  town  would  be  as  accessible  as  any  of  our  commer- 
cial cities.  The  Parana,  from  its  mouth  to  Rosario,  is  not  very  tor- 
tuous, having  a  general  course  of  N.N.  W.  The  prevailing  south 
wind  is,  therefore,  fair  in  the  ascent  throughout  this  distance.  I 
must  not  omit  to  state  that  such  a  wind  is  necessary  to  all  sailing 
vessels,  because  the  current  of  two  to  two  and  a  half  miles  per 
hour  will  baffle  all  efforts  to  contend  with  it  by  beating.  The 
Argentine  government,  with  a  view  of  promoting  direct  tirade,  has 
laid  a  discriminating  duty  on  all  articles  imported  from  or  export- 
ed to  Buenos  Ayres,  which  may  induce  vessels  to  proceed  direct- 
ly to  Rosario  for  the  sale  or  purchase  of  cargoes,  rather  than  buy 
goods  encumbered  not  only  with  a  double  export  and  import,  but 
with  the  differential  duties. 

In  descending  the  river  no  detention  need  ever  occur,  its  width 
being  sufficient  to  admit  of  beating  down  during  contrary  winds. 

The  trade  with  Rosario  should  be  carried  on  in  vessels  of  the 
class  and  size  of  the  largest  three-masted  schooners.  This  con- 
struction and  rig,  which  are  peculiarly  American,  will  be  found 
well  adapted  to  this  river  navigation.  Such  vessels  are  quickly 
turned  to  windward,  and  easily  handled.  Experience  has  shown 
that  this  rig  is  not  incompatible  with  suitable  size  or  capacity. 
Their  draught  of  water  should  not  exceed  twelve  feet  when  laden, 
the  mean  depth  on  the  bar  of  San  Juan,  below  Martin  Garcia,  not 
admitting  vessels  of  a  greater  draught. 

During  the  prevalence  of  north  winds,  the  depth  of  water  is  so 
diminished  as  to  leave  ships,  in  both  inner  and  outer  roads  of  Bu- 
enos Ayres,  resting  on  the  bottom.  These  winds,  being  from  the 
land,  produce  no  sea,  therefore  vessels  are  in  no  danger,  although 
aground.  The  south  winds,  fair  for  the  ascent  of  the  river,  inva- 
riably produce  a  rise  of  the  water,  increasing  its  depth  according 
to  their  force  and  duration.  The  depth  of  water  to  which  I  have 
alluded  on  the  bar  of  San  Juan  is  that  of  the  old  channel  of  Mar- 
tin Garcia. 


EOSARIO.  75 

The  new  channel,  made  known,  as  before  stated,  by  this  expe- 
dition, east  of  the  island,  has  a  greater  depth  by  two  feet.  The 
development  of  this  channel  has  not  been  hailed  by  the  Buenos 
Ayreans  with  the  enthusiasm  which  usually  meets  all  discoveries 
that  may  facilitate  the  trading  operations  of  a  country.  In  de- 
priving Martin  Garcia  of  its  political  importance,  it  obviates  the 
necessity  of  treaty  stipulations  with  Buenos  Ayres  for  entrance 
into  the  upper  waters. 

While  engaged  upon  this  work,  I  have  been  gratified  to  learn, 
by  a  letter  from  my  esteemed  friend,  E.  B.  Forbes,  of  Boston,  that 
a  commercial  firm  in  that  city  have,  with  eminent  success,  become 
the  pioneers  to  our  trade  with  the  interior  countries  of  La  Plata. 
I  quote  from  his  letter,  alluding  to  the  first  shipment  that  had 
been  made  from  the  United  States  directly  to  the  port  of  Rosario. 
He  gives,  in  a  few  words,  the  report  of  the  captain  of  the  vessel 
to  his  owners  in  Boston. 

The  captain  says  "he  got  to  Eosario  without  any  difficulty,  dis- 
charged his  cargo,  and  got  his  freight  money.  That  Chistopher 
Columbus  did  not  excite  more  curiosity  than  did  the  arrival  of 
his  vessel ;  that  goods  can  be  put  on  board  at  Eosario  from  15  to 
20  per  cent,  cheaper  than  at  the  port  of  Buenos  Ayres,  and  that 
he  expected  to  bring  home  some  passengers,  with  means  to  buy 
goods,  domestics,  lumber,"  &c. 

This  is  a  beginning,  to  be  followed,  I  hope,  by  hearing  that  the 
waters  of  the  Parana  are  covered  with  vessels  bearing  the  stars 
and  stripes. 

The  right  bank  of  the  river  from  Eosario  to  the  mouth  of  the 
Cacarana,  a  distance  of  eighteen  miles,  presents  an  unbroken  and 
precipitous  elevation  of  from  fifty  to  eighty  feet  of  reddish  clay ; 
beyond  this  it  recedes  into  the  interior;  and  thence,  throughout 
the  extent  of  the  river  to  its  confluence  with  the  Paraguay,  the 
same  bank  assumes  somewhat  the  appearance  of  the  other.  Up 
to  this  point  the  shores  are  low  and  marshy,  and  the  course  of 
the  river  is  broken  by  densely  wooded  islands  of  recent  formation. 

We  had  remained  at  Eosario,  hoping  for  clear  weather,  to  make 
observations  for  latitude  and  longitude,  as  it  was  my  habit  to  es- 
tablish the  positions  of  all  prominent  places,  independent  of  the 
observations  that  were  made  nightly  whenever  the  weather  would 
permit.  Finding  from  appearances  that  we  should  be  unneces- 
sarily detained,  and  knowing  that  I  should  have  subsequent  op- 
portunities of  determining  this  place,  we  pushed  on  and  anchored 


76  SAN  LORENZO.— THE  TERCERO. 

off  the  convent  of  San  Lorenzo,  about  twelve  miles  above  Eosario, 
on  the  same  range  of  high  land. 

This  is  one  of  the  old  establishments  of  the  Jesuits,  and  now 
held  by  the  Franciscans.  Substantially  built,  like  all  their  struc- 
tures, it  presents  a  conspicuous  but  isolated  mark  on  the  plateau. 

The  historical  associations  of  this  vicinity  are  full  of  interest. 
Before  the  Jesuits  entered  upon  their  missions,  Sebastian  Cabot, 
and  Ayolas,  serving  under  the  banner  of  what  was  the  then  great 
temporal  power  of  Christendom,  charmed  with  the  beauty  of  the 
country  and  the  hospitality  of  the  neighboring  Indians,  had  se- 
lected it  for  the  first  settlements  of  the  white  race  in  La  Plata, 
"  San  Espiritu,"  and  "  Corpus  Christi." 

We  were  disappointed  in  our  expectations  of  astronomical  ob- 
servations. My  journal  says,  "  September  8th,  10  o'clock  A.M., 
at  anchor  off  San  Lorenzo.  Temperature  of  air  49°,  water  67°  ; 
velocity  of  current  two  and  a  half  miles  per  hour.  Last  night 
strong  gales  from  the  southeast,  with  rain ;  tliis  morning  appear- 
ances of  clearing.  Remained  at  anchor  until  10  o'clock,  hoping  to 
get  observations  for  latitude  and  longitude,  but  without  success. 
Proceeded  on  our  course,  the  weather  only  preventing  astronomi- 
cal observations.  This  southeast  wind  has  prevailed  for  several 
days.  Six  miles  above  San  Lorenzo  the  River  Cacarana  empties 
into  the  Parana ;  it  retains  this  name  only  within  the  province  of 
Santa  Fe.  From  its  source  in  the  sierras,  it  is  known  as  the  Ter- 
cero,  and  it  is  joined  by  the  River  -Cuarto  at  the  distance  of  one 
hundred  and  twenty  miles  from  its  confluence  with  the  Parana." 

I  am  indebted  to  Mr.  Allen  Campbell  for  the  most  reliable  in- 
formation relative  to  this  river.  In  the  prosecution  of  his  survey 
of  the  route  of  the  railway  from  Rosario  to  Cordova,  which  lay 
very  much  along  the  course  of  the  Tercero,  it  became  necessary 
for  him  to  make  a  very  thorough  examination  of  it.  The  inform- 
ation he  was  thus  enabled  to  give  me  precluded  the  necessity  of 
farther  examination  than  had  been  previously  made  by  Lieutenant 
Murdaugh  and  myself  It  was  my  intention,  before  meeting  Mr. 
Campbell,  from  the  cursory  notice  we  had  made  on  our  land  trip 
from  Cordova  to  Rosario — the  road  occasionally  taking  us  near  the 
river — to  explore  it  thoroughly.  We  had  seen  it  at  its  lowest  state, 
when  the  strength  of  its  current  was  diminished,  but  were  unable 
to  judge,  simply  by  inspection,  of  the  declivity  of  its  bed  through- 
out a  distance  of  three  hundred  miles.  The  examination  made  by 
Mr.  Campbell  left  no  doubt  in  my  mind  of  the  impracticability  of 


THE  PAMPAS.  77 

its  navigation ;  if  for  no  other  reason,  because  of  its  great  declivity 
— two  and  a  half  feet  to  the  mile — sufficient  to  produce  a  current 
which  it  would  be  impossible  to  overcome  during  the  season  of 
high  water. 

This  difference  of  level  is  a  foot  for  every  inch  in  the  Mississippi. 
I  quote  the  words  of  Mr.  Campbell.  "  The  '  Tercero'  is  not  navi- 
gable in  its  natural  state,  neither  is  it  susceptible  of  being  made  so 
by  artificial  means,  at  least  for  any  practical  or  useful  purpose." 

It  is  not  unusual  to  hear  the  navigability  of  many  of  the  small 
rivers  of  La  Plata  mentioned  as  being  established,  and  even  to  see 
such  statements  in  books,  when  no  evidences  are  adduced,  nor  the 
names  of  explorers  given  in  confirmation  of  such  assertions.  This 
has  not  only  been  said,  but  written  of  the  Tercero.  In  a  work 
upon  the  country,  the  author  declares  that  it  is  navigable  from  its 
mouth  to  the  town  of  Villa  Nueva,  a  distance  by  the  windings  of 
the  river  of  two  hundred  and  fifty  miles.  Mr.  Campbell  says, 
"  These  ideas  are  entirely  illusory ;"  and,  as  his  assertion  is  based 
upon  reliable  data,  no  better  authority  could  be  given.  I  have  no 
doubt,  however,  that  the  same  means  which  once  constituted  the 
only  mode  of  transportation  downward,  on  the  Mississippi,  may  be 
resorted  to  with  success  on  the  Tercero,  when  immigration  and  the 
friction  of  trade  shall  have  awakened  some  degree  of  enterprise 
among  the  people,  and  taught  them  that  time  is  money. 

Passing  the  mouth  of  the  Cacarana,  the  elevated  pampa  country 
of  the  right,  as  before  stated,  recedes  gradually  to  the  interior ;  and 
not  until  we  have  ascended  one  thousand  miles  above,  on  that  bank, 
do  we  again  see  high  lands,  and  then  not  a  plateau  or  elevated  pam- 
pa, but  isolated  mountains  and  hillocks  from  one  half  of  a  mile  to 
two  miles  in  length,  and  rising  several  hundred  feet  above  the  level 
of  the  "  Gran  Chaco" — monuments,  apparently  dropped  from  the 
clouds  or  upheaved  by  some  convulsion  of  nature  in  the  midst  of 
a  vast  domain,  claimed  by  the  neighboring  republics,  and  divided 
among  them  by  imaginary  lines,  but  stiU  occupied  by  aboriginal 
tribes  who  have  never  been  subjugated  or  even  disturbed  by  the 
white  race. 

Between  the  town  of  Diamante  and  Cacarana,  a  distance  of 
thirty-three  miles,  the  river  courses  among  low  islands  of  recent 
formation,  but  wooded,  and  with  an  almost  impenetrable  under- 
growth. As  we  ascended  at  the  period  of  low  water,  I  had  an 
opportunity  of  observing  their  formation,  which  was  composed  of 
strata  of  black  argillaceous  earth  and  sand,  showing  at  different 


78  RIVER  SCENERY.— DIAMANTE. 

periods  of  inundation  the  character  of  the  deposit.  The  bottom 
of  the  river,  brought  up  by  the  lead,  was  invariably  sandy  wher- 
ever it  had  been  subject  to  the  action  of  the  currents;  in  slack 
water  it  was  uniformly  muddy. 

The  scenery  of  this  noble  river  was  throughout,  to  its  junction 
with  the  Paraguay,  imposing  and  picturesquely  beautiful.  Islands 
continue  a  characteristic  feature  forjuany  hundred  miles,  differing 
only,  I  observed  in  ascending,  from  those  of  the  lower  waters  in 
the  improved  growth  of  trees,  or  even  greater  exuberance  of  veg- 
etation. They  were  enlivened  by  monkeys,  capinchas,  and  birds 
of  brilliant  plumage,  and  the  atmosphere  was  redolent  of  the  fra- 
grance of  chmbers  and  parasites  that  enwrapped  trunk  and  branch- 
es of  many  a  huge  tree,  their  bright  floral  clusters  blending  har- 
moniously with  the  varied  hues  of  the  foliage.  The  finest  gardens 
of  less  favored  zones  would  offer  but  a  penury  of  vegetal  beauty 
when  compared  with  these  fair  Edens  of  nature. 

At  Diamante  we  meet,  for  the  first  time,  a  change  in  the  char- 
acter of  the  left  bank  of  the  Parana.  We  are  approaching  the 
high  and  rolling  lands  of  Entre  Eios,  washed  by  the  windings  of 
the  river,  above  which  they  rise  from  ninety  to  one  hundred  and 
fifty  feet.  On  the  beginning  of  this  elevation,  prettily  situated, 
stands  a  town  or  village  of  about  one  thousand  inhabitants,  for- 
merly known  as  Punta  Gorda,  but  changed  by  Urquiza  to  Dia- 
mante, or  Diamond. 

In  1852,  in  preparing  for  his  invasion  of  Buenos  Ayres,  which 
ended  with  the  battle  and  victory  of  "  Monte  Caseres,"  Greneral 
Urquiza  selected  this  point  of  the  Parana  for  the  passage  of  his 
army.  The  contraction  of  the  river  and  the  firm  lands  of  the 
opposite  bank  in  Santa  Fe  made  it  the  most  eligible  place  for  this 
purpose.  The  passage  of  the  whole  army  on  boats  and  rafts  was 
made  without  the  loss  of  a  single  man,  beast,  or  charge  of  ammu- 
nition. Gratified  at  his  success  here,  and  subsequent  victory,  Ur- 
quiza conceived  this  point  of  Entre  Eios,  from  which  he  took  his 
departure,  worthy  the  name  which  he  bestowed  upon  it. 

The  mildness  of  the  climate,  the  frequent  intersection  of  the 
lands  in  every  direction  by  small  rivers,  and  the  absence  of  ferries 
and  bridges,  oblige  the  people  of  the  country  to  become  expert 
swimmers.  The  gaucho,  stripped  to  the  loins,  springs  into  the 
water  with  his  horse,  as  if  it  were  the  natural  element  of  both ; 
holding  the  animal  by  the  mane,  he  swims  alongside,  guiding  him 
"by  an  occasional  slap  on  the  head,  and  encouraging  him  by  deaf- 


LEFT  BANK  OF  THE  PARANA.  79 

ening  yells  and  whoops.  In  the  few  places  where  ferries  are  es- 
tablished, canoes  are  provided,  which  the  traveler  enters,  holding 
his  horse  by  the  bridle.  The  canoe  is  guided  by  the  ferry -man, 
but  carried  over  by  the  direct  power  of  the  horse  swimming  along- 
side. 

Diamante  is  an  important  place  for  steamers  ascending  the  riv- 
er. There,  for  the  first  time,»will  be  found  excellent  fuel,  the 
wood  of  the  lowlands  and  islands  being  unfit  for  this  purpose. 
On  the  firm  lands  of  Entre  Eios  are  found  the  algarroba  and  es- 
pinilla,  trees  of  slow  growth ;  the  former  attains,  with  age,  a  great 
size ;  both  are  remarkable  for  their  solidity,  and  afford  the  best 
fuel  for  steamers,  one  cord  being  fully  equal  to  a  ton  of  coals. 
There  are  several  other  woods  scarcely  inferior  to  these,  all  of 
which  skirt  the  river  courses  only ;  they  never,  in  the  lower  paral- 
lels of  La  Plata,  grow  in  extended  forests. 


CHAPTER  y. 

Left  Bank  of  the  Parana. — Survey  made  by  Lieutenant  Powell. — Climbing  the 
Tree. — Victoria. — Descending  the  Parana  Cito. — Puerto  de  los  Bues. — Guala- 
guay. — El  Puerto  de  Ybicui. — A  Canal. — Paciencia. — Physical  Changes. — The 
Colastine. — Capella  de  San  Jose. — Santa  Fe. — The  Chaco. — Its  Inhabitants. — 
Parana. — Bajada. — Progress. — Pine  Lumber. — Commercial  Prospects. — Cedar. 
— Surface  Soil. — Dr.  Martin  de  Moussy's  Report. — Plan  of  Parana. — Buildings 
and  Population. — River  Ba,nks. — Estancia  of  an  Englishman. — Feliciana. — La 
Paz. — The  Jefe  de  Politica  and  the  Curate. — Fuel. — Pass  of  San  Juan. — Course 
of  the  River. — Sullivan's  Charts. — Wild  Fowl. — The  Espinilla. — Capibaras  or 
Capinchas. — Locusts. — Catching  a  Deer. — Riacho  Caraguatay. — Riacho  San 
Geronimo. — Goya. — Capincha  Chase. — Bella  Vista. — Productions. — Fishing. — 
Tobacco  Island. — Hunting  for  Specimens. — Taquari  Chico. — An  Orange  Estan- 
cia.— The  Camilote. — Arrival  at  Corrientes. — Visit  to  the  Governor. — Visit 
from  the  Governor. — City  of  Corrientes. — Easy  Navigation  of  the  River. — Fine 
Woods  for  Fuel. — Resources  of  the  River  Provinces. — Table  of  Distances. 

Considering  Diamante  as  the  apex  of  the  Delta  of  the  Parana, 
I  have,  up  to  this  point,  given  a  sketch  of  its  right  bank.  I  will 
now  endeavor  to  give  some  idea  of  the  left,  which,  in  ascending, 
was  rarely  visible  from  the  Water  Witch.  I  shall  quote,  in  part, 
from  the  journal  of  Lieutenant  Powell,  who,  at  a  subsequent  pe- 
riod of  the  exploration,  surveyed  the  eastern  branches  of  the 
Parana,  skirting  the  shore  of  Entre  Rios.  This  was  done  in  a 
small  steamer,  La  Yerha^  of  two  feet  draught,  which  I  chartered 
from  the  "United  States  and  Paraguay  Company"  for  the  pur- 


80  THE  TIMBO.— THE  PARANA  CITO. 

pose  of  exploring  the  Salado  and  other  tributaries  inaccessible  to 
our  "  ocean  steamer."  ' 

On  the  left  bank,  the  branches  which  leave  the  main  river,  be- 
tween Kosario  and  Diamante,  are  the  Parbon,  Timbo,  and  Parana 
Cito.  To  ascertain  their  navigability  through  a  very  interesting 
part  of  Entre  Eios  was  the  object  of  the  work  assigned  to  Lieu- 
tenant Powell.  ^ 

Leaving  Diamante  and  proceeding  south,  he  found  the  mouth 
of  the  Parana  Cito  obstructed  by  snags,  and,  descending  the  main 
river  a  short  distance,  he  entered  the  Timbo,  which,  though  nar- 
row— from  fifteen  to  twenty-five  yards — maintained  throughout 
a  depth  of  from  nine  to  twelve  feet.  He  followed  it  in  its  mazy 
windings  through  the  alluvial  soil  of  the  Delta  to  its  junction 
with  the  Parana  Cito. 

To  obtain  a  distinct  view  of  the  country,  and  satisfy  himself 
as  to  what  course  he  should  take  among  the  numerous  branches 
which  spread  off  in  every  direction,  he  brought  into  requisition 
an  accomplishment  of  his  juvenile  days,  and  climbed  the  highest 
tree  he  could  find.  His  examination  determined  him  to  follow 
up  the  Parana  Cito,  which  has  a  width  of  from  forty  to  sixty 
feet,  and  a  depth  of  from  eighteen  to  ninety-five,  to  a  point  called 
Tres  Bocas — "  Three  Mouths,"  where,  entering  a  branch  called 
Victoria,  and  ascending  it  half  a  mile,  he  came  to  the  Puerto  de 
los  Sauses — "  Port  of  the  Willows,"  where  there  were  several 
small  craft  discharging  and  taking  in  cargo.  This  is  the  port  of 
the  town  of  Victoria.     I  now  quote  from  his  journal. 

"  The  position  of  Puerto  de  los  Sauses  was  established  by  obser- 
vation, the  church  in  the  town  of  Victoria  bearing  north  three 
and  a  half  miles  distant.  Situated  on  the  top  of  the  elevated 
ridge  which  bounds  the  Delta,  it  is  a  flourishing  place  of  about 
four  thousand  inhabitants,  and  has  a  considerable  trade  in  hides, 
wool,  and  lime.  I  found  it  impossible  to  procure  reliable  statis- 
tics of  this,  as  well  as  of  other  ports  of  the  province ;  and,  having 
made  the  same  inquiry  at  Parana  subsequently,  was  told  'the 
government  had  not,  as  yet,  been  able  to  procure  any  such  in- 
formation.' 

"  As  the  Yerba  was  the  first  steamer,  and  the  flag  she  bore  the 
first  of  our  nation  that  had  appeared  in  those  waters,  we  were 
soon  honored  by  a  number  of  visitors.  In  visiting  the  govern- 
ment oflicials,  and  in  the  exchange  of  courtesies  with  the  inhab- 
itants, we  made  many  agreeable  acquaintances,  and  hope  we  left 


PUERTO  DE  LA  CRUZ.— GUALAGUAY.  81 

as  many  pleasant  reminiscences  of  their  fellow- Americans  of  the 
North." 

Ketracing  their  steps  through  the  Victoria  into  the  Parana  Cito, 
at  the  distance  of  eleven  and  a  half  miles  from  Tres  Bocas,  they 
found  the  Puerto  de  la  Cruz — "Port  of  the  Cross,"  where  it  is 
necessary,  during  the  periods  of  very  low  water,  to  ship  and  dis- 
charge. At  the  distance  of  nine  miles  from  the  last  place  is  Puer- 
to del  Kubio — "  Bed  Port,"  situated,  like  La  Cruz,  on  a  range  of 
twenty  feet  elevation.  Vessels  whose  cargoes  are  for  and  from 
Victoria  discharge  and  load  at  these  ports  when  the  state  of  the 
river  will  not  permit  them  to  proceed  higher.  At  the  season  of 
high  water,  vessels  of  ten  feet  ascend  within  one  mile  of  Victoria. 

In  descending  the  Parana  Cito  to  its  junction  with  the  Parbon, 
a  distance  from  Victoria  of  about  seventy -five  miles,  they  passed 
through  a  beautiful  rolling  country,  covered  with  estancias  and 
fine  herds  of  cattle  and  horses.  They  saw  occasionally  patches 
of  espiniLla  and  tala,  both  excellent  fuel  for  steamers.  A  short 
distance  below  the  confluence  of  the  Parana  Cito  with  the  Parbon 
the  latter  is  contracted  to  the  width  of  about  two  hundred  yards. 
Here  Rosas,  in  the  year  1845,  during  his  dif&culties  with  England 
and  France,  threw  a  chain  across,  to  obstruct  the  ascent  of  the 
river.  At  a  distance  of  ten  miles  from  this 'point  the  steamer 
entered  the  Gualaguay  Eiver,  which  was  ascended  for  twenty 
miles  to  El  Puerto  de  los  Bues. 

This  river  passes  through  a  beautiful  country,  and  some  of  the 
most  valuable  lands  of  Entre  Rios ;  it  was  sparsely  wooded  with 
algarroba  and  espinilla,  and  the  estancias  on  both  sides  had  herds 
of  cattle  and  horses.  At  El  Puerto  de  los  Bues,  the  port  of  Gua- 
laguay, several  vessels  were  discharging  and  loading  cargo.  In 
consequence  of  the  low  state  of  the  water,  he  was  unable  to  reach 
El  Puerto  de  los  Barillos,  the  port  immediately  at  the  town,  which, 
by  the  course  of  the  river,  is  eighteen  miles  distant  from  El  Pu- 
ertp  de  los  Bues. 

Ascending  to  within  six  miles  of  the  town,  but  finding  the  water 
falling,  Mr.  Powell  thought  it  advisable  to  return  to  the  latter  port, 
whose  position  he  determined  by  observations,  from  which  he  es- 
tablished that  of  Gualaguay,  bearing  N.N.E.,  and  distant  six  miles. 
Gualaguay  is  larger  than  Victoria,  having  five  or  six  thousand  in- 
habitants. It  has  a  lively  trade  in  hides,  wool,  timber,  and  fire- 
wood ;  the  former  the  product  of  the  herds  and  flocks  of  one  of 
the  best  grazing  districts  of  the  province,  the  latter  from  the 

6 


82  HOSPITALITY.— A  CANAL. 

abundant  growtli  of  the  espinilla  and  algarroba.  In  the  effort  to 
procure  statistical  information,  he  encountered  the  same  difficulties 
as  at  Victoria. 

"La  Yerba,"  says  Lieutenant  Powell,  "continued  to  be  an  ob- 
ject of  great  interest,  notwithstanding  her  distance  from  the  town 
— six  miles.  No  mark  of  hospitality  was  omitted,  and  every  fa- 
cility was  afforded  in  procuring  provisions  and  wood.  On  visiting 
the  town  and  calling  on  the  government  officials,  we  were  re- 
ceived with  every  mark  of  hospitality  by  the  family  of  the  com- 
mandante,  he  being  at  the  time  unwell,  and,  in  a  walk  through 
the  town,  were  shown  by  the  Jefe  Politico  the  lions  of  the  place, 
most  prominent  among  which  was  the  cafe,  lighted  with  gas,  the 
only  gas-light  at  this  time  in  the  Argentine  Confederation,  and  the 
work  of  an  enterprising  Italian,  the  proprietor  of  the  cafe." 

Eeturning  into  the  Parbon,  and  descending  thirty-one  miles,  he 
touched  at  El  Puerto  de  Ybicui,  a  port  established  for  the  conven- 
ience of  the  neighboring  estancieros,  and  having  its  custom-house 
business  conducted  in  Gualaguay.  There  are  several  ranchos  here, 
but  it  is  not  known  as  a  village.  I  think  its  importance  has  been 
exaggerated  by  giving  its  name,  as  on  Captain  Sullivan's  charts, 
to  the  "  Parbon"  from  this  place  to  its  junction  with  the  Parana, 
a  distance  of  ten  miles.  Ybicui  is  not  recognized  as  the  name  of 
this  branch  by  the  inhabitants  of  either  of  the  towns  above  men- 
tioned. It  is  common  for  the  pilots  and  people  of  the  country  to 
speak  of  the  Parana  Cito  from  the  point  at  which  it,  branches  off 
from  the  Parana,  near  Diamante,  to  Victoria,  as  the  "  Eiacho  Vic- 
toria," but  I  have  confined  this  latter  name  to  the  riacho*  which 
courses  off  from  the  Parana  Cito,  and  on  which  is  the  town  of 
Victoria. 

On  entering  the  Parana  Guazu  through  the  Parbon,  Mr.  Powell 
had  an  opportunity  of  examining  a  miniature  piece  of  canaliza- 
tion, executed  by  an  enterprising  citizen  for  the  purpose  of  facil- 
itating a  charcoal  and  wood  business,  which  he  carried  on  to  a 
considerable  extent  with  Buenos  Ayres.  Near  the  island  Biscaino 
the  main  river  is  separated  from  Las  Palmas  by  a  narrow  strip  of 
land  of  about  seventy -five  yards.  Senor  Mercadel,  the  person  al- 
luded to,  by  way  of  avoiding  a  circuit  of  fifteen  miles,  one  half  of 
which  would  be  against  the  current,  has  nearly  completed  a  cut 
of  ten  feet  width  and  depth  through  this  narrow  strip  of  land,  by 
which  he  will  be  enabled  to  pass  from  the  main  river  into  Las 
*  Riacho,  stream.     Riachuelo,  small  stream  or  creek. 


THE  RIVER  BANKS.  83 

Palmas,  feeling  assured  that  in  giving  the  current  an  inch  it  would 
take  an  ell,  and  very  soon  open  a  channel  of  sufficient  capacity 
for  the  largest  vessel  in  the  trade. 

Having  traced  out  those  arms  of  the  Parana  through  which  a 
very  interesting  portion  of  Entre  Eios  is  approached,  and  desig- 
nated the  different  points  accessible  to  navigation  at  periods  of  high 
and  low  water,  I  proceed  with  my  narrative  of  the  river  courses 
from  Diamante  upward. 

I  have  shown  that  here  for  the  first  time  we  have  in  full  view 
from  the  channel  both  sides  of  the  river.  The  left  now  assumes 
the  character  which  has  up  to  this  point  distinguished  the  right. 
It  is  formed  by  the  high  land  of  Entre  Eios,  and  is  even  more  ele- 
vated than  the  right  bank  up  to  Diamante ;  it  is  an  undulating 
'  pampa,  skirted  on  the  river  by  a  noble  growth  of  timber.  The 
country  on  this  side  of  th^;  Parana  for  four  hundred  and  forty  miles, 
ascending,  bounds  parts  of  the  provinces  of  Entre  Rios  and  "Cor- 
rientes,"  and  affords  throughout  an  abundant  supply  of  fiiel.  The 
inhabitants  will  contract  to  furnish  it  for  steamers,  placing  it  at 
suitable  points  easy  of  access. 

Intervening  islands  intercept,  at  intervals,  the  view  of  the  main 
land ;  but,  wherever  it  is  washed  by  the  main  river,  estancias  and 
settlements  are  to  be  <seen  upon  its  borders.  The  course  of  the 
river,  winding  among  islands  from  Diamante  to  Paciencia,  a  dis- 
tance of  twenty-two  miles,  is  north;  there  it  turns  nearly  at  right 
angles  to  the  east.  Its  name  admonishes  those  ascending  in  sail- 
ing craft,  dependent  exclusively  on  the  winds,  to  be  patient.  There 
are  instances  of  vessels  having  been  detained  here  for  weeks. 

Among  the  physical  changes  which  were  occurring  during  our 
work  in  these  waters,  one  of  the  most  important  was  at  this  point. 
The  Riacho  Paracan  (which  will  not  only  reduce  the  distance,  but 
make  what  was  a  circuitous  route  a  straight  line)  was  doubtless 
becoming  the  main  channel.  Its  depth  had  very  much  increased 
previously  to  our  leaving  the  river.  During  the  latter  days  of  our 
work,  in  rounding  the  point  of  Paciencia,  it  was  discovered  that 
in  the  main  channel  the  depth  had  become  reduced  from  twenty- 
seven  to  eighteen  feet,  and  that  a  new  and  deeper  channel  had 
broken  through  the  flat  which  separated  the  main  land  from  the 
island  of  Paracan,  passing  east  of  the  island  of  "  Toro." 

The  Colastine  here  unites  with  the  Parana.  About  thirty  miles 
above  it  branches  off  from  the  main  river,  and,  pursuing  a  very 
winding  course,  receives,  among  other  minor  streams,  the  waters 


84  KING  ON.— SANTA  FE. 

of  the  Santa  Fe,  whicli  is  a  continuation  of  the  Salado,  although 
much  of  the  water  of  this  latter  river  finds  its  way  into  the  Parana 
through  the  shallow  "riacho"  called  Coronda,  which  is  only  navi- 
'  gable  for  very  small  craft.  The  Colastine  retains  at  low  water  a 
depth  of  not  less  than  eleven  feet,  and  throughout  a  width  of  from 
one  hundred  to  two  hundred  and  fifty  yards.  It  receives,  at  a  short 
distance  from  its  branching  off  from  the  Parana,  through  the  nar- 
row creek  called  Cayesta,  the  waters  of  a  lake  of  the  same  name, 
which,  from  the  immediate  vicinity  of  Santa  Fe,  extends  north 
about  ten  miles  with  a  width  of  three. 

The  country  bordering  on  the  Colastine  to  the  west,  and  extend- 
ing for  many  miles  north  of  the  town  of  Santa  Fe,  is  known  as 
Rincon^  "  Corner."  It  is  a  narrow  strip  of  rolling  land,  bounded 
on  the  west  by  Lake  Cayesta,  and  on  the  east  by  the  Colastine ;  is 
well  populated,  highly  fertile,  and  furnishes  the  market  with  large 
supplies  of  vegetables. 

The  Capilla  de  San  Jose — "  Chapel  of  St.  Joseph" — is  prettily  sit- 
uated on  the  right  bank  of  the  Colastine,  about  twenty  miles  north 
of  Santa  Fe.  This  chapel  and  a  few  adobe  houses  form  the  north- 
em  limit  of  civilized  occupation  bordering  on  the  Chaco. 

There  is  north  of  Rincon  a  settlement  of  demi-civihzed  Indians 
who  will  permit  no  direct  trade  or  intercourse  between  their  more 
savage  brethren  and  the  white  traders,  but  act  as  their  brokers  in 
the  exchange  of  arrow-heads,  knives,  hatchets,  beads,  etc.,  for  the 
skins  of  animals  brought  in  from  "  El  Gran  Chaco." 

The  town  of  Santa  Fe  (latitude  31°  88"  84''  S.,  longitude  60° 
39'  48"  W.)  is  placed  upon  a  peninsula  formed  by  the  River  Sa- 
lado, on  the  west  and  south,  and  the  Santa  Fe  on  the  east,  the 
latter,  as  I  have  shown,  being  only  a  continuation  of  the  former. 
In  abandoning  the  old  city  of  the  same  name,  founded  by  De 
Garay  and  eighty-four  followers  in  1573,  on  the  borders  of  the 
Lake  Cayesta,  in  latitude  31°,  the  inhabitants  selected  the  site  of 
the  present  town  from  the  admirable  natural  defenses  it  seemed  to 
present  against  the  inroads  of  the  savages ;  also  for  the  communi- 
cation it  offered  by  the  Salado  with  the  settlements  of  the  interior. 
Their  expectations  were  not  reahzed.  Although  almost  an  island, 
few  towns  of  the  Parana  have  suffered  more  from  Indian  aggres- 
sion. It  stands  upon  the  verge  of  their  vast  domain,  "  El  Chaco," 
which,  from  here,  borders  the  river  on  the  west,  embracing  an 
extent  of  twelve  degrees  of  latitude. 

"With  the  Salado  as  its  southern,  the  Parana  and  Paraguay  its 


THE  CHACO.— PAEANA.  85 

eastern  boundaries,  the  Chaco  covers  an  area  of  two  hundred 
thousand  square  miles.  Partitioned  by  imaginary  lines  among 
neighboring  governments,  it  is  yet  in  possession  of  hordes  of  in- 
hospitable Indians,  acknowledging  allegiance  to  no  power  but  that 
of  caciques,  who  rule  their  respective  tribes  with  an  authority 
both  unlimited  and  unquestioned.  Neither  intercourse  with  the 
whites  nor  time  has  dissipated,  among  the  more  warhke  Lidians 
of  the  Chaco,  a  deep  feeUng  of  hostility  for  the  wrongs  endured  by 
their  race.  They  manifest  it  by  continual  inroads  upon  the  bor- 
der settlements,  occasionally  carrying  off  prisoners  and  committing 
the  most  atrocious  crimes.  Generally,  however,  these  incursions 
are  merely  predatory  in  their  character,  leaving  the  estancias  mi- 
nus fine  herds  of  cattle,  sheep,  horses,  etc. 

We  have  before  alluded  to  the  agricultural  tribes.  Experience 
has  shown  that  from  this  class  of  Indians  may  be  derived  the  most 
valuable  aid  in  brmging  the  country  under  cultivation.  On  the 
western  borders  of  the  "Chaco"  they  have  been  employed  by  the 
estancieros,  and  found  highly  efiicient  as  laborers  and  herdsmen. 
They  do  not  abandon  their  homes  or  habits,  but,  after  the  crops 
are  seeded  or  gathered  in,  return  to  their  families,  carrying  with 
them  the  proceeds  of  their  labors.  Under  kind  and  judicious 
treatment,  and  with  the  protection  of  just  laws,  a  useful  jDopida- 
tion  could  be  formed  from  these  tribes,  and  the  Argentine  States 
would  do  well  to  adopt  the  policy  of  Brazil  in  trading  with  the 
savages  bordering  upon  their  territory. 

The  Parana  maintains  an  easterly  course  from  the  Banco  de 
Paciencia  for  fifteen  miles,  intermediate  between  which  two  j^oints 
is  the  city  of  Parana,  the  capital  of  the  Argentine  Confedera- 
tion, one  mile  from  the  Bajada,  or  "  Landing,"  the  name  orig- 
inally held  by  the  city.  The  Bajada  was  ascertained  by  a  series 
of  observations  to  be  in  latitude  31°  42'  54''  south,  and  longitude 
60°  32'  39"  west.  It  was  founded  in  1730  by  colonists  from 
Santa  Fe,  who,  having  been  driven  from  this  place  by  the  Paya- 
gua  and  Munos  Indians,  retired  to  the  spot  now  occupied  in  the 
capital  by  the  Plaza  2^rimero  de  Mayo — "  The  Square  of  the  1st  of 
May."  Here  they  intrenched  themselves,  constructed  a  few  huts 
and  a  small  fort,  and  succeeded  in  maintaining  this  position  until 
sufl&cient  accessions  to  their  numbers  were  made  to  enable  them 
to  act  on  the  offensive  against  their  savage  neighbors.  They 
nearly  annihilated  the  Munos ;  and  the  Payaguas,  unable  to  cope 
alone  with  them,  ceased  their  hostile  incursions.     Under  the  Con- 


86  GEOWTH  OF  PARANA. 

federation  of  1852,  it  was  made  the  seat  of  the  general  govern- 
ment ;  since  wliich,  up  to  1855,  its  population  has  trebled. 

Parana  is  not  advantageously  placed  as  a  commercial  city,  and 
its  trade,  except  for  imports,  is  of  little  value.  The  construction 
of  a  mole  and  wharves  would  give  facilities  to  lading  and  discharg- 
ing cargo  which  it  does  not  naturally  possess.  The  exports  of 
the  province  of  Entre  Eios  are  mainly  from  the  ports  on  the  Par- 
bon  and  the  Uruguay,  in  the  vicinity  of  which  are  the  most  val- 
uable estancias.  The  lands  around  the  capital  are  not  so  well 
adapted  to  agriculture  as  those  of  other  parts  of  the  province,  but 
they  are  undoubtedly  rich,  and  the  rapid  increase  of  the  popula- 
tion will  soon  cause  them  to  be  industriously  cultivated. 

We  could  scarcely  realize  the  change  in  the  aspect  of  the  town 
between  1853  and  1855,  the  period  of  the  arrival  and  departure 
of  the  expedition.  When  we  first  visited  it,  a  noiseless  inertion 
seemed  to  pervade  all  things ;  before  our  departure,  the  construc- 
tion, not  only  of  government  buildings,  but  of  fine  private  dwell- 
ings, gave  it  an  air  of  bustle  and  life  quite  "  American/"  The 
saw  and  hammer  were  busily  plied  in  every  street,  and  they  were 
preparing  for  use,  not  only  the  hard  woods  of  the  country,  but 
American  pine.  Even  in  the  short  period  which  had  elapsed 
since  the  opening  of  the  rivers,  this  lumber  had  worked  its  way 
six  hundred  miles  in  the  interior,  not  only  against  the  currents 
of  the  river,  but  the  prejudices  of  the  people,  who  previously  im- 
agined no  woods,  for  any  purpose,  equal  to  their  own.  Pine  was 
not  only  extensively  applied  for  doors  and  window-sashes,  but, 
as  flooring,  was  actually  superseding  tile  and  brick. 

It  must  be  remembered  that  only  three  years  had  elapsed  since 
the  opening  of  these  waters  to  commerce,  and  as  yet  there  was 
no  direct  trade  with  the  United  States.  This  lumber  had  paid 
not  only  import  duty  at  Parana,  but  both  import  and  export  duty 
at  Buenos  Ayres  or  Montevideo,  and  yet  was  sold  here  with  profit. 
It  can  therefore  be  well  understood  how  much  our  merchants 
would  gain  by  a  direct  trade,  in  their  own  ships,  with  Eosario  or 
Parana,  where  their  cargoes  will  be  subject  to  but  one  import  duty 
before  they  get  into  the  hands  of  the  consumer.  I  hazard  noth- 
ing in  saying  that  I  believe  the  trade  in  lumber  to  those  interior 
provinces  of  La  Plata  will  be  one  of  considerable  importance  to 
this  country. 

The  growth  of  Eosario  and  Parana  in  three  years  is  not  sur- 
passed by  the  strides  of  some  of  our  western  cities.     The  rise  in 


THE  LUMBER  TRADE.  87 

the  value  of  real  estate,  tlie  demand  for  houses  caused  by  the  in- 
creased population,  seem  to  promise  a  permanent  prosperity,  which 
will  make  their  trade  of  great  value  to  those  who  may  secure  it. 

It  undoubtedly  sounds  like  "sending  coals  to  Newcastle"  to 
write  so  confidently  of  a  remunerative  trade  in  lumber  which  must 
make  a  voyage  of  six  thousand  miles,  and  then  go  up  stream  from 
four  to  six  hundred  miles  iato  the  interior-of  a  country  which,  but 
a  short  distance  above  where  I  would  land  it,  boasts  of  the  supe- 
riority of  its  woods  over  those  of  the  world. 

For  some  purposes,  the  superiority  of  South  American  timber 
will  remain  unquestioned,  that  is,  for  parts  of  ship-building  where 
hard  and  durable  woods  are  requisite ;  for  cabinet-work,  where 
fineness  of  texture  is  essential;  and  for  joists  and  beams  of  build- 
ings, where  heavy  woods  could  be  advantageously  applied ;  but 
neither  pine  nor  its  equivalent  has  yet  been  discovered.*  The 
cedar  is  applied  to  purposes  approaching  most  nearly  to  our  use 
of  it,  and  grows  abundantly  in  Paraguay  and  the  northwestern 
provinces  of  the  Argentine  Confederation,  Tucuman,  Santiago,  and 
Salta.  It  attains  to  a  great  size,  with  a  trunk  of  such  height  as  to 
afford  planks  of  the  greatest  required  length.  I  saw  one  of  four 
feet  diameter,  but  was  told  they  often  exceeded  six.  The  price  of 
one-inch  boards  of  cedar — the  only  wood  ever  sawed  by  them  in 
that  way — at  Asuncion,  was  twelve  and  a  half  cents  the  foot. 
Harder  woods,  squared  for  joists,  beams,  etc.,  fneasuring  from  eight 
to  ten  inches  throughout  their  length,  could  not  be  bought  at  Cor- 
rientes  for  less  than  seventy-five  cents  the  vara — thirty-four  inches. 

It  needs  no  extraordinary  calculation  to  show  that  American 
pine  can,  at  least  for  some  years — until  enterprise  and  industry 
have  introduced  greater  facilities  in  sawing — compete  successfully 
with  these  woods  at  their  own  market ;  and  its  superiority  for  cer- 
tain uses  is  apparent.  I  purchased  pine  boards  at  Corrientes,  and 
paid  twelve  and  a  half  cents  the  foot.  This  lumber  had  been  re- 
shipped  for  the  latter  port,  and  saddled  with  all  the  expenses  of 
import  and  export  duty  to  which  I  have  before  alluded. 

The  plateau  upon  which  the  city  of  Parana  stands  is  a  continu- 
ation of  the  high  lands  of  the  left  bank,  first  seen  at  Diamante. 
They  present  an  interesting  subject  of  study  to  the  geologist.  I 
give  in  Ms  own  language  the  result  of  an  examination  made  by 

*  There  is  a  tree  called  the  Pino  alluded  to  by  some  of  the  old  writers  as  being 
found  in  the  upper  waters  of  the  Parana,  but  its  description  does  not  correspond 
with  that  of  ours,  and  it  has  not  been  brought  into  use. 


88  GEOLOGICAL  FEATURES. 

an  eminent  scientific  man,  Dr.  Martin  de  Moussy,  employed  by  tlie 
government  to  make  a  geological  survey  of  the  country : 

"This  vegetable  earth  (the  surface  soil)  has  in  considerable  quan- 
tities oxyd  of  iron  and  magnesia,  which  give  it  a  dark  yellow  or 
violet  appearance.  It  is  unctuous  to  the  touch,  because  of  a  cer- 
tain quantity  of  clay  which  it  contains.  It  readily  receives,  and 
as  readily  gives  out  moisture.  Beneath  this  is  a  reddish-yellow 
argillaceous  stratum,  containing  a  quantity  of  oxyd  of  iron ;  it  is 
of  the  same  character  as  that  of  the  pampas  and  the  borders  of  the 
Eiver  La  Plata,  called  by  D'Orbigny  and  Darwin  Limo  Pampero — 
'  pampa  mud.'  In  this  stratum,  which  is  diluvium^  are  found  nu- 
merous fossils  of  mammiferous  animals  of  a  class  now  extinct — 
the  Megatherium,  Glyptodon,  Milodon — which  are  abundant  in  the 
toscas^  a  compact  calcareous  clay  in  the  lower  part  of  the  river. 
We  are  not  aware  that  any  such  fossils  have  been  found  in  Butre 
Rios,  but  we  confidently  believe  they  may  be.  The  third  stratum, 
counting  from  the  surface,  is  calcareous.  This  bank,  which  begins 
at  Diamante,  and  extends  northeast  to  a  distance  unknown,  con- 
tains great  quantities  of  shells ;  nevertheless,  there  are  points  at 
which  they  disappear  altogether.  Above  the  city  the  calcareous 
bank  is  less  shelly,  but,  in  consequence  of  its  mixture  with  sand, 
it  approaches  the  character  of  chalk,  having  at  the  same  time  a 
harder  consistency. 

"  The  thickness  of  this  stratum  is  from  six  to  eighteen  feet. 
The  lower  part  rests  on  a  stratum  of  potters'  earth,  beneath  which 
is  a  perfect  sandy  limestone,  useless  in  the  production  of  lime,  but 
excellent  as  a  building-stone.  This  sandy  limestone  contains  no 
shells.  At  different  points  northeast  of  the  rising  ground  of '  Man- 
ga' the  carbonate  of  lime  has  undergone  a  remarkable  change  into 
sulphate  of  lime  or  gypsum,  which  is  found  in  large  quantities, 
beautifully  crystallized. 

"  The  fourth  stratum  is  pure  clay,  containing  in  parts  small  al- 
ternating veins  of  ferruginous  sand,  argillaceous  marl, 'and  minute 
particles  of  shells.  It  is  exceedingly  variable  in  its  form  and  thick- 
ness. Considering  it  in  an  industrial  point  of  view,  this  stratum 
becomes  an  interesting  subject  of  study  in  connection  with  the  art 
of  pottery.  It  contains  the  best  material  for  the  manufacture  of 
the  finest  as  well  as  the  common  china,  and  for  the  making  of 
bricks  and  square  tiles,  for  which  there  is  great  demand  at  all 
times  in  Parana  and  towns  on  the  river.  Potters'  clay  of  extreme 
fineness  is  found  in  great  abundance ;  it  is  unctuous  to  the  touch, 


CITY  OF  PARANA.  89 

and  may  be  used  with  success  as  '  fullers'  earth.'  An  argillaceous 
marl,  perfectly  white,  forms  in  the  midst  of  these  strata  perpendic- 
ular veins,  which  have  a  very  singular  effect  contrasted  with  the 
horizontal  veins  of  red  and  yellow  ferruginous  sand.  Finally,  the 
fifth  stratum  consists  entirely  of  a  yellowish-green  sand." 

The  plan  of  the  city  of  Parana  is  a  quadrangle,  divided  into 
squares  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  yards,  the  streets  intersecting 
each  other  at  right  angles.  Tlie  principal  public  buildings  are 
the  governor's  palace — a  plain  house,  but  in  good  taste ;  several 
churches — one  of  which,  San  Miguel,  has  been  fifteen  years  in 
course  of  construction,  and  is  yet  unfinished ;  and  a  pretty  theatre. 

The  new  houses  are  all  of  brick,  plastered  and  whitewashed, 
with  azoieas,  which  afford  a  pleasant  place  for  evening  resort  and 
the  flirtation  of  the  senoritas,  or  even  for  a  promenade ;  families 
sometimes  visiting  each  other  by  these  airy  passages.  I  missed, 
however,  the  miradores,  or  turrets,  which  are  so  gay  and  orna- 
mental, and  to  be  found  on  almost  all  the  better  class  of  dwell- 
ings in  Buenos  Ay  res  and  Montevideo.  In  Parana  they  would 
afford  an  extended  view  of  a  beautiful  country,  embracing  in  one 
direction  the  city  of  Santa  Fe.  The  theatre  contains  two  tiers  of 
boxes,  is  sufiiciently  commodious,  and  the  decorations  are  in  good 
taste.  The  gardens  are  numerous  and  well  arranged.  The  fruits 
— orange,  peach,  pomegranate,  fig,  grape — are  excellent,  and  their 
rich  foliage  contrasts  pleasantly  with  the  whitewashed  walls  of  the 
dwellings. 

In  1855  the  city  contained  eight  thousand  souls,  and  the  popu- 
lation was  rapidly  increasing.  In  addition  to  its  kilns,  which  sup- 
ply the  towns  of  La  Plata  with  quantities  of  lime,  there  are  near  it 
extensive  tanneries,  where  the  barks  of  the  "cascara"  and  "tim- 
bo  Colorado"  are  used ;  the  latter  is  also  excellent  fael  for  steamers. 
An  admirable  road  is  being  constructed  from  the  city  to  the  port 
— a  work  of  some  labor,  as  it  grades  an  ascent  of  one  hundred  and 
fifty  feet.  Associating,  as  we  are  apt  to  do,  stagnation  or  a  retro- 
grade movement  with  all  things  in  the  interior  of  South  America, 
the  healthful,  progressive  aspect  of  Parana  is  not  less  pleasing  than 
astonishing. 

"  We  have  made  observations  for  latitude  and  longitude,  also  for 
height  of  bank,  which  was  found  to  be  one  hundred  and  twenty- 
four  feet ;  also  observations  with  the  micrometer  for  the  width  of 
the  river,  which  is  here  sixteen  hundred  and  forty  yards,  the  ve- 
locity of  the  current  being  three  miles  the  hour.     Six  miles  above 


90  CHAPITAN.— FELICIANA.— LA  PAZ. 

Parana  tlie  river  takes  a  general  direction  of  N.E.,  the  sinuosities 
of  the  channel,  caused  by  numerous  islands,  making  the  only  de- 
viation from  this  course,  which  it  maintains  up  to  Piragua,  a  dis- 
tance of  about  eighty  miles.  The  character  of  the  river,  its  shores 
and  islands,  remain  unchanged  up  to  this  point.  The  high,  firm 
lands  of  the  left  bank  range  from  one  hundred  to  one  hundred 
and  sixty  feet  above  the  water,  and  are  washed  throughout  this 
distance  by  the  main  river,  except  at  three  points,  where  it  is 
broken  by  islands.  At  Chapitan  Island,  seventeen  miles  above 
Parana,  we  saw,  for  the  first  time,  detached  masses  of  coarse  brown 
sandstone.  Here  the  islands  of  the  Parana  afford  excellent  fuel 
for  steamers,  which  may  be  had  for  the  trouble  of  cutting  it. 

"  Above,  but  near  Chapitan,  is  the  estancia  of  an  Englishman, 
which  runs  for  twenty  miles  along  the  river.  The  improvements 
around  the  dwelling,  the  wire  fence  protecting  well-cultivated 
grounds,  gave  the  impression  that,  with  the  enjoyment  of  an  un- 
rivaled climate,  this  estanciero  had  brought  around  him  all  the 
order  and  comfort  of  a  British  homestead.  Three  miles  beyond 
we  passed  the  point  where  the  Colastine  branches  off  from  the 
Parana,  and,  anchoring  off  the  lower  endof  the  islands  Tres  Cruces 
— 'Three  Crosses,'  obtained  observations  for  latitude  and  longi- 
tude. 

"  Thirty-five  miles  above  begins  the  bank  of  Feliciana.  It  ex- 
tends twenty-two  miles,  and  is  broken  only  by  some  small  streams^ 
among  which  are  the  Arroyos  Gonzales,  Hondo,  and  Verde, 
which  take  their  rise  within  the  province  of  Entre  Eios.  Its 
strata  of  limestone,  white  clay,  sand,  and  yellow  clay,  retain  a  re- 
markable uniformity  of  depth  throughout  to  Piragua  Point ;  and 
though  the  bank  is  broken,  as  aUuded  to,  it  reappears  with  the 
same  formation  in  the  continuation  of  the  range. 

"  Three  miles  beyond  the  last  point  at  which  observations  were 
obtained  there  is  in  mid-channel  an  isolated  ledge  of  rocks  three 
feet  below  the  surface  at  low  water,  and  yet  there  is  no  appear- 
ance on  either  shore  of  any  such  formation.  It  does  not,  however, 
in  the  least  impede  navigation,  the  channel  being  wide  on  each 
side,  with  a  depth  of  ninety-six  feet. 

"La  Paz  is  a  village  of  two  hundred  inhabitants;  made  obser- 
vations to  determine  its  position ;  it  is  just  within  the  boundary - 
line  which  separates  Corrientes  and  Entre  Kios — a  miserable  place ! 
The  buildings  all  of  adobe ;  not  even  a  plaza,  the  pride  and  de- 
light of  Spanish  villages.     It  contains  a  chapel  of  adobe,  the  bel- 


LA  PAZ.— SAN  JUAN.  91 

fry,  formed  of  a  piece  of  timber  laid  across  two  upriglit  posts, 
boasts  three  bells,  whicb.  make  a  pleasant  chime,  and  summon  the 
people  to  morning  and  evening  prayer.  I  called  on  the  highest 
dignitary  of  the  place,  the  '  Gefe  de  Pohtica.'  After  the  usual 
offers  of  civihty,  cigars  were  passed  round;  took  leave,  and  called 
on  the  second  dignitary,  the  curate,  who  was  a  native  of  Madrid, 
and  had  only  been  in  the  country  nine  months.  He  was  hand- 
some, intelligent,  and  polished,  and  seemed  contented  in  the  dis- 
charge of  his  duties  as  pastor  to  these  simple  people.  He  had  a 
garden,  the  only  one  of  La  Paz,  and  in  it  he  had  brought  to  per- 
fection a  hmited  variety  of  vegetables,  among  which  was  the 
cauliflower,  the  finest  I  have  ever  seen ;  but  his  success  had  not 
stimulated  the  villagers  to  a  similar  experiment.  The  people 
Uve  on  beef  every  day  of  the  year,  and  every  year  of  their  lives, 
and  care  too  little  for  fruits  and  vegetables  to  begin  their  culti- 
vation. 

"The  pastures  of  this  neighborhood  are  very  fine;  the  horses 
and  horned  cattle  of  the  surrounding  country  celebrated.  The 
growth  of  wood  is  not  confined  to  the  borders  of  the  main  river, 
but  extends  for  some  distance  into  the  interior,  and  skirts  all  the 
small  streams  that  find  an  outlet  iato  the  Parana.  By  agreement 
with  the  people  of  the  country,  an  abundant  supply  may  be  ob- 
tained for  steamers. 

"  Senor  Antonio  Descalso  supplied  the  Water  Witch,  and  would 
gladly  enter  into  similar  contracts.  This  port  is  not  unlike  that 
of  Parana — Bajada — with  this  advantage,  that  the  shore  may  be 
more  nearly  approached.  A  chain  of  low  sandy  islands  between 
the  channel  and  the  main  land  protects  it  from  the  strength  of  the 
current.  As  the  anchorage  was  good,  we  '  cast  off'  the  coal-hulk, 
which  had  been  thus  far  in  tow  of  the  Water  Witch  from  Monte- 
video, secured  her  here  as  our  coal  depot,  and,  having  made  the 
usual  observations,  proceeded  on  our  voyage  up  the  river. 

"  Three  and  a  half  miles  from  La  Paz  we  reached  the  pass  of 
San  Juan,  and  found  a  depth  of  but  ten  feet  water,  caused  by  nu- 
merous islands,  which  extend  for  some  distance,  and  form  various 
channels,  making  this  the  most  difficult  pass  we  encountered,  and 
subsequently  ascertained  it  to  be  the  worst  in  the  river.  Howev- 
er, a  shoal  with  a  depth  of  ten  feet  at  low  water  can  scarcely  be 
considered  a  serious  obstacle  in  river  navigation.  San  Juan  is 
four  hundred  and  forty-five  miles  from  Buenos  Ayres.  Up. to  this 
place  the  least  depth  we  had  obtained  was  fourteen  feet ;  and  it  is 


92  CHANGES  OF  CHANNEL. 

fair  to  infer  that  at  tliis  time  the  Water  Witch  was  not  in  the  chan- 
nel, for  but  one  or  two  casts  of  the  lead  gave  so  little  water." 

In  this  neighborhood  the  officers  had  fine  opportunities  of  show- 
ing their  skill  as  sportsmen.  We  were  now  dependent  upon  guns 
and  fishing-lines  for  a  supply  of  fresh  provisions ;  and  so  teeming 
with  animal  life  was  both  land  and  water,  that  the  mess-table  was 
not  only  abundantly  supplied  with  delicious  game  and  fish,  but, 
with  encouraging  success,  we  added  to  our  collections  in  natural 
history. 

Near  La  Paz,  Lieutenant  Amen  brought  down  a  fine  swan  ;  it 
was  our  first,  and  secured  as  a  specimen.  The  Perdiz  grande — large 
partridge,  Pavo  del  Monte — wild  turkey,  or  turkey  of  the  woods, 
and  the  Oallina  del  Mo/ite — wild  hen,  were  found  in  quantities, 
and  would  be  esteemed  as  delicacies  on  a  Lucullian  table ;  but, 
forced  to  live  upon  them  for  some  weeks,  we  would  gladly  have 
exchanged  them  for  a  good  butcher's  joint. 

From  latitude  30°  44'  8",  four  miles  beyond  La  Paz,  the  general 
course  of  the  river  is  north  up  to  29°  11' south,  ninety-three  miles 
by  difference  of  latitude,  and  ninety-eight  by  the  sinuosities  of  the 
channel ;  a  remarkable  directness,  its  windings  differing  from  a 
right  line  only  five  miles.  Atiihis  point,  Yuelta  del  Norte — "  Bend 
of  the  North,"  the  river,  as  if  wearied  of  a  direct  course,  winds 
about  in  a  most  extraordinary  manner,  now  north,  here  south, 
through  sixteen  pomts  of  the  compass.  Among  the  islands  which 
cause  the  shallow  channels  of  San  Juan,  numerous  changes  are 
constantly  taking  place.  This  may  be  discovered  by  comparing 
the  charts  of  Captain  Sullivan,  K.ISr.,  who  made,  in  1847,  a  running 
survey  of  the  Parana  to  Corrientes,  with  the  charts  of  our  expedi- 
tion, the  surveys  for  which  were  made  in  1853  and  1854.  Not 
only  the  channels,  but  the  appearance  of  the  river  were  in  some 
places  materially  changed.  Islands  have  been  enlarged,  others 
reduced  in  size ;  some  have  disappeared  altogether,  and  their  po- 
sitions, as  marked  upon  his  chart,  are  now,  in  some  instances,  the 
channel  of  the  river.  The  track  of  the  Water  Witch  at  the  lower 
pass  of  San  Juan  passes  directly  over  the  position  of  an  island 
marked  on  Sullivan's  charts.  This  proves  nothing  wrong  in  his 
surveys ;  but  it  is  an  interesting  fact,  showing  the  remarkable  phys- 
ical changes  constantly  produced  by  the  action  of  the  currents, 
which,  if  watched  and  studied  with  care,  would  doubtless  develop 
some  interesting  law  of  nature  governmg  and  controUing  the  move- 
ment of  these  waters. 


CAPINCHAS.— LOCUSTS.  93 

On  leaving  La  Paz,  we  had  on  the  left  bank  the  province  of 
Corrientes,  on  the  right "  El  gran  Chaco."  In  latitude  30°  20',  the 
Eiver  Espinilla,  an  unimportant  stream,  that  takes  its  rise  in  the 
province  of  Corrientes,  disembogues  in  the  Parana ;  and  near  this 
place  we  saw  two  capibaras  or  capinchas  on  the  bank,  which  our 
carbines  soon  enabled  us  to  secure  as  specimens.  Thej  were  male 
and  female ;  the  former  weighing  one  hundred  pounds,  and  meas- 
uring-in  length  three  feet  seven  and  a  half  inches ;  the  female  nine- 
ty-one pounds,  and  three  feet  seven  inches  in  length.  It  seems  to 
form  a  link  between  the  hare  and  the  hog,  having  the  mouth  and 
teeth  of  the  former,  and  the  head,  skin,  and  hair  of  the  latter.  A 
thick  membrane  unites  four  toes  on  the  fore,  and  three  on  the  hind 
foot,  making  them  semi- web-footed.  The  male  may  be  distinguish- 
ed from  the  female  by  a  horny  protuberance  of  an  inch  and  a  half 
on  the  nose.  Both  have  a  similar  prominence  on  each  hind  leg 
from  three  to  four  inches  in  length.  It  feeds  on  vegetables,  and  is 
never  seen  at  any  distance  from  a  lake  or  river,  into  which  it  dash- 
es at  full  speed  when  pursued ;  sometimes  precipitating  itself  from 
banks  of  twenty  feet  elevation,  and  diving  under  the  water,  where 
it  will  remain  for  several  minutes.  When  not  in  motion,  it  is  in- 
variably seen  in  a  sitting  posture,  and  its  inactive,  clumsy  move- 
ments on  land  would  make  it  an  easy  prey  to  the  jaguar,  did  not 
its  instinct  teach  it  to  seek  protection  in  the  water.  The  flesh  of 
this  animal  is  similar  in  appearance  to  that  of  the  hog,  and,  had  we 
not  been  supphedwith  such  abundance  of  game  and  fish,  we  might 
have  regarded  it  as  a  dehcacy ;  it  was  served  up  by  some  of  the 
men  at  their  messes,  and  its  savory  odor  made  it  quite  a  tempting 
dish. 

'•'■  September  &h.  Atmosphere  clear,  sky  cloudless.  Witnessed  an 
extraordinary  spectacle.  I  called  the  pilot's  attention  to  a  black 
cloud  in  the  northeast  which  seemed  to  be  rapidly  approaching. 
Eyeing  it  attentively  for  a  minute  through  the  telescope,  he  pro- 
nounced it  a  swarm  of  locusts.  They  came  at  last  in  mjrriads, 
darkening  the  air.  Some  fell  on  deck,  or  were  caught  by  the  rig- 
ging and  spars.  They  were  migrating  from  a  part  of  the  country 
which  they  had  denuded  of  all  vegetation,  to  new  fields  or  orchards 
destined  to  share  the  same  fate."  Subsequently,  in  Paraguay,  I  had 
an  opportunity  of  witnessing  their  destructive  power.  A  swarm 
took  possession  of  an  orange  grove,  which  in  a  short  time  was  left 
as  leafless  as  the  orchards  of  northern  latitudes  in  mid-winter. 
The  young  locusts,  before  they  make  their  first  flight,  are  the  most 


94  DEER  CHASE 

destructive.  Fortunately,  for  tlie  labors  of  man  would  be  of  little 
avail  did  a  contrary  law  prevail,  these  visitations  are  not  frequent 
or  even  annual;  the  inhabitants  of  the  country,  from  observation 
of  the  habits  of  these  insects,  know  when  they  may  expect  to  suf- 
fer from  their  ravages.  The  beginning  of  October  is  the  season  at 
which  they  usually  appear.  They  swarm  in  myriads,  having  the 
appearance,  as  we  saw  them,  of  a  dark,  threatening  cloud ;  and  on 
their  approach,  a  number  of  persons  collect,  who,  with  whoops, 
yells,  and  deafening  noises,  sometimes  succeed  in  driving  away  the 
plague ;  but  should  they  settle  upon  a  tract  of  uncultivated  land  in 
the  vicinity,  it  is  then  well  understood  that  the  surrounding  vege- 
tation will  suifer.  They  deposit  their  eggs ;  in  December  the  young 
locusts  appear,  and  before  the  first  flight  in  February,  spread  over 
neighboring  orchards  and  fields,  feeding  continuously  for  several 
weeks. 

My  journal  reminds  me  that  this  is  the  first  night  we  have  suf- 
fered from  musquitoes,  but  we  are  well  supplied  with  nets  and  bars. 

^'■September  7  th.  No  longer  in  sight  of  the  high  lands  of  Corrien- 
tes.  The  course  of  the  river  is  interrupted  by  numberless  and 
nameless  islands,  also  the  mouths  of  various  riachos,  some  of  which 
course  through  the  firm  lands  on  the  left  bank  before  again  unit- 
ing with  the  main  river,  thus  affording  convenient  access  to  the 
estancias.  In  latitude  29°  50',  at  Riacho  Timbo,  got  one  cast  of 
the  lead  often  feet,  there  being  immediately  below  and  above  it  a 
depth  of  fourteen  and  twenty-one  feet.  I  designate  only  the  shal- 
lowest points  of  the  river,  which  call  for  vigilance  on  the  part  of 
the  pilot.  Throughout,  with  these  exceptions,  the  invariable  depth 
was  from  twenty  to  seventy  feet.  At  Paso  Patil  it  is  again  divided 
into  many  branches.     Here  we, found  a  depth  of  but  ten  feet." 

While  in  the  act  of  anchoring  to  ascertain  the  direction  of  the 
channel,  we  saw  a  deer  swimming  majestically  from  the  east  to  the 
west  bank.  It  offered  an  occasion  not  only  of  securing  a  specimen, 
but  fine  sport  for  ofl&cers  and  men.  A  boat  was  soon  engaged  in 
the  chase,  which  was  kept  up  for  some  time  with  great  spirit,  and 
infinitely  to  the  amusement  of  those  looking  on  from  the  Water 
Witch.  Its  movements  and  speed  were  wonderful,  calling  forth 
our  admiration  as  it  turned  first  to  the  left,  then  to  the  right,  or 
again  dashed  forward,  but  evading  capture  by  the  most  skillful 
manoeuvres.  As  we  were  anxious  to  secure  it  alive,  that  its  skin 
might  be  preserved  perfect,  the  chances  of  escape  for  the  noble  an- 
imal were  great.     The  lasso,  thrown  in  gaucho  style,  at  last  did  its 


THE  DEER.— RI  AC  HO  CARAGUATAY.  95 

work ;  a  desperate  struggle  then  commenced,  but  was  soon  ended 
by  a  skillful  blow  dealt  a  la  matador  by  one  of  the  party.  Because 
of  its  enormous  size,  it  was  with  difficulty  gotten  into  the  boat. 
It  weighed  two  hundred  and  sixty-eight  pounds,  and  measured  in 
length  eighty  inches  without  the  tail ;  around  the  body  forty-eight 
inches,  and  forty -four  in  height.  Its  color  was  a  reddish-brown, 
hair  long  and  thick ;  in  many  points  answering  to  the  guazu  pucu 
of  Azara,  but  again  there  were  striking  peculiarities  in  which  they 
differed  widely.  There  was  a  remarkable  cavity  of  three  fourths 
of  an  inch  under  each  eye,  emitting  a  powerful  odor  of  musk ;  also 
a  cheese-like  substance  of  most  offensive  smell  on  each  side  of  the 
upper  jaw,  in  a  sack,  with  a  conduit  into  the  nostrils.  The  people 
of  the  country  told  us  that,  to  make  the  flesh  of  this  deer  palatable, 
it  was  necessary  to  cut  out  these  offensive  parts  before  life  was  ex- 
tinct. We  had  no  opportunity  of  making  the  experiment,  but  a 
saddle  of  this  specimen,  served  up  in  good  style  at  our  table,  set  at 
defiance  the  keenest  appetite,  so  strongly  did  it  savor  of  musk. 
We  were  also  told  that,  as  a  means  of  defense  when  pursued,  it 
exhales,  at  intervals  of  a  few  seconds,  an  odor  so  offensive  as  to 
deter  both  men  and  dogs  from  the  chase.  We  know  that  nature 
provides  some  animals  with  a  similar  power  of  protection,  and  it 
is  not  improbable  that  this  species  of  deer  may  possess  it ;  but  in 
its  pursuit,  which  was  on  water,  this  peculiarity  was  not  perceived 
by  the  party  from  the  Water  Witch. 

Fifteen  miles  above,  we  anchored  to  examine  the  Paso  Patil,  lat- 
itude 29  °15'.  We  passed  the  junction  of  the  Eiacho  Caraguatay, 
which  branches  off  from  the  main  river  thirteen  miles  by  its  course, 
but  in  a  right  line  five.  It  takes  its  name  from  an  aloe  (so  called 
by  the  Guarani  Indians),  which,  in  treating  of  Paraguay,  I  shall  de- 
scribe. It  is  there  found  in  gTeat  abundance ;  is  one  of  the  most 
valuable  indigenous  products  of  that  rich  country,  and  will  doubt- 
less become,  in  course  of  time,  an  article  of  trade. 

We  had  advanced  two  miles  when  we  passed  the  mouth  of  the 
Eiacho  San  Geronimo,  flowing  into  tte  Parana  from  the  Chaco. 
It  branches  off  from  the  main  river  seventeen  miles  above,  and  is 
named  from  a  Jesuit  establishment,  formed  at  that  point  in  1748, 
among  the  celebrated  Apibones.  Not  a  vestige  of  it  remains,  al- 
though it  nmnbered  at  one  period  four  hundred  and  eighty  souls. 

The  river  here  makes  the  Vuelta  del  Norte,  to  which  I  have  al- 
luded, and  describes  an  S ;  then  takes  a  direction  of  N.N.E.,  which 
it  maintains  to  latitude  28°  40'  south,  and  thence,  to  the  town  of 


96  GOYA. 

Corrientes,  the  general  course  of  north.  The  country  is  low  on 
both  sides  up  to  latitude  29°  01'  south,  when  the  firm  lands  again 
have  an  elevation  of  forty  feet. 

Sixteen  miles,  by  the  course  of  the  river,  from  the  Vuelta  del 
Norte,  we  anchored  off  the  mouth  of  the  Goya,  on  which  is  situated 
a  town  of  the  same  name  three  miles  above;  at  the  season  of  low 
water  vessels  of  more  than  four  feet  draught  can  not  make  a  nearer 
approach.  I  visited  the  authorities  of  Goya,  and  received  the  usual 
civilities,  which  every  native  of  this  country,  however  humble  his 
position  or  deficient  in  education,  knows  how  to  offer  in  the  most 
pleasing  manner. 

The  town  has  7000  inhabitants,  and  possesses  considerable  trade. 
It  is  an  outlet  for  the  products  of  a  fine  back-country — the  in- 
terior of  Corrientes — which  receives,  in  return,  supplies  of  mer- 
chandise. There  is  nothing  prepossessing  in  the  appearance  of 
Goya,  or  the  immediate  surrounding  country ;  it  is  low,  and  the 
pastures  are  less  rich  than  those  of  other  parts  of  the  province. 
Civil  wars  have  left  their  desolating  mark  upon  this  part  of  Cor- 
rientes. Cattle  have  been  destroyed,  and  the  people  diverted  from 
agricultural  and  pastoral  pursuits  to  fighting  among  themselves. 
A  happier  system  will  doubtless  prevail  under  the  existing  Con- 
federation. Even  at  this  time,  the  trade  in  hides  and  tallow  is 
very  considerable.  Having  accomplished  our  business  in  the  town, 
in  descending  the  river  to  the  Water  Witch,  we  saw  two  capinchas 
seated  upon  the  bank.  They  allowed  the  boat  to  approach  with- 
in half  of  its  length,  when,  with  the  grunt  of  a  hog,  they  dashed 
into  the  thicket.  The  boat's  crew  were  soon  in  pursuit,  but  had 
scarcely  entered  the  bushes  at  different  points,  when  the  animals 
bounded  forth,  and  precipitated  themselves  into  the  river.  With 
some  management,  the  capincha  might  easily  be  secured  on  land, 
as  its  movements  are  awkward  and  slow.  Each  man,  on  this  oc- 
casion, thought  that  another  had  allowed  the  game  to  escape ;  but 
all  had  some  sport,  and  a  capincha  chase  will  doubtless  serve  as 
the  foundation  for  a  long  yarn  in  their  next  man-of-war  cruise. 
The  usual  observations  were  made  to  determine  the  position  of 
the  mouth  of  the  Goya. 

We  had  ascended  about  eight  miles,  where  the  left  bank  of  the 
river  attains  an  elevation  of  from  forty  to  one  hundred  and  twenty 
feet,  which  continues  unbroken  to  the  town  of  Bella  Vista,  in  lati- 
tude 28°  29'  south,  longitude  59°  07'  02"  west.  On  this  range  are 
some  fine  estancias.     The  dwellings  on  these  estates  are  generally 


BELLA  VISTA.— PRODUCTIONS.  97 

of  adobe,  tliatclied,  with  neither  gardens  nor  ornamented  grounds 
about  them,  but  lovely  orange-groves.  These  are  not  only  profit- 
able, but  the  delicious  shade  they  aflbrd  renders  them  the  favorite 
resort  for  the  siesta.  On  the  right  bank  the  lands  of  the  Chaco 
rise  from  twelve  to  fifteen  feet,  and  continue  at  this  height  for 
some  miles,  when  they  are  again  broken  by  low  islands.  This 
elevation  characterizes  generally  the  banks  of  the  Parana  and 
Paraguay  throughout  the  Chaco. 

Twenty  miles  above  Goya  we  foimd  a  remarkable  change  in 
the  channel  from  the  west  to  the  east  of  the  island  of  Tunas.  It 
thence  skirts  the  left  bank  until  within  a  few  miles  of  Bella  Vista, 
where  its  course  is  again  broken  by*a  number  of  islands.  Two 
miles  above  Tunas  we  were  compelled  to  anchor  and  make  an  ex- 
amination of  its  course.  Here  is  a  pass,  throughout  which  the 
channel  is  narrow  and  tortuous,  with  a  depth  of  but  ten  feet ;  it 
extends  for  a  short  distance  only.  Just  below  Bella  Yista,  the 
left  bank  rises  one  hundred  and  thirty  feet,  forming  a  bluff  called 
Guayana,  from  an  aboriginal  tribe  of  that  name,  who  formerly 
claimed  the  surrounding  country.  A  remnant  of  these  Indians, 
now  quiet  and  demi-civilized,  still  occupy  a  few  huts  in  the  vicinity. 

Bella  Vista  has  about  one  thousand  inhabitants,  and  boasts  a 
Plaza,  a  church,  and  commandancia,  or  of&ce  of  the  commander  of 
the  district.  I  found  here  one  of  our  countrymen,  who  had  estab- 
lished himself  in  the  neighborhood  for  the  purpose  of  cultivating 
cotton,  which  is  a  perennial  plant,  and  is  said  to  produce  abmi- 
dantly  for  fifteen  years ;  that  of  the  best  quality  is  the  product  of 
the  first  and  second  years.  I  learned  subsequently  that  he  did 
not  succeed  in  his  enterprise.  There  is  also  residing  here  an  En- 
glishman, engaged  largely  in  the  manufacture  of  molasses  and 
aguardiente.  Corn  is  the  principal  cereal,  but  grown  only  for 
home  consumption,  though  it  might  be  made  an  article  of  profit- 
able trade.  The  oranges  and  peaches  are  of  excellent  quality. 
Indeed,  Nature  seems  to  have  exhausted  her  bounty  upon  these 
Argentine  States.  They  have  the  products  of  temperate  and  trop- 
ical zones ;  their  woods  and  flora  are  rarely  equaled ;  the  climate 
is  neither  enervating  nor  severe,  and  the  atmosphere  never  laden 
with  miasma.     What  a  land  of  promise  to  European  emigrants  ! 

So  anxious  are  the  government  and  people  to  induce  immigra- 
tion, that  lands  are  freely  given.  The  fertility  of  the  soil  is  every 
where  made  available  to  trade,  through  the  natural  canalization, 
formed  by  branches  which,  diverging  from  the  main  rivers,  and 

7 


98  FISHING.— MONKEY-HUNTING. 

coursing  for  a  long  distance  through,  the  interior  country,  again 
find  an  outlet  in  the  central  waters.  With  the  mechanical  aids  of 
this  progressive  age,  the  labor  of  one  man  would  be  equal  to  that 
of  ten  in  regions  less  favored.  The  agricultural  tribes  of  the  Chaco 
might  furnish  herdsmen  and  farm-assistants.  I  have  alluded  to 
the  successful  experiments  on  the  western  borders,  with  these  In- 
dians as  laborers. 

While  at  anchor  off  Bella  Vista  for  a  night,  the  officers  amused 
themselves  by  a  mode  of  fishing  familiar  to  me,  from  having  seen 
it  practiced  along  the  shores  of  York  Eiver,  in  Virginia.  Vast 
quantities  of  a  species  of  fish,  known  in  the  Chesapeake  as  the 
"Jumping  Mullet,"  are  found  in  this  part  of  the  Parana.  Push- 
ing quietly  up  stream  after  dark,  with  the  shoal  between  the  fish- 
ing-party and  the  shore,  the  men  rapped  on  the  sides  of  the  boat, 
the  frightened  fish  leaped  out  of  the  water  in  every  direction, 
hundreds  at  the  same  time  jumping  into  the  boat.  In  an  incredi- 
bly short  time  the  whole  shijj's  company  were  in  this  manner  sup- 
plied with  a  mess.  In  York  Eiver  the  fishermen  carry  a  light 
elevated  some  three  or  four  feet,  and  cover  their  boats  with  twigs 
to  prevent  the  escape  of  their  prisoners. 

The  numerous  islands  above  and  below  Bella  Vista  cause  sev- 
eral difl&cult  passes,  where  we  found  a  depth  of  but  ten  feet.  The 
most  intricate  is  three  miles  above,  where  the  channel,  with  a 
width  of  three  quarters  of  a  mile,  forms  a  serpentine  figure.  Pass- 
ing near  the  island  of  Tobaco,  fifteen  miles  above  Bella  Vista,  one 
of  the  crank  straps  broke,  which  obliged  us  to  anchor  for  repairs. 

I  landed  on  Tobaco  Island  with  my  gun  in  search  of  specimens. 
Monkeys  chattered  in  the  trees  above  our  heads.  I  shot  four,  cor- 
resj)onding  to  the  species  "  Caraza^''  described  by  Azara.  One  of 
them  lived  for  some  minutes ;  it  touched  its  wound,  looked  at  the 
blood,  then  at  me  with  a  glance  piteous  and  reproachful ;  its  moans 
were  plaintive,  and  really  touching  from  their  resemblance  to  those 
of  a  human  being.  I  resolved  never  again  to  shoot  a  monkey. 
The  pilot,  who  was  with  me,  shot  a  Ciconia,  an  enormous  bird,  a 
species  of  stork.  One  of  the  sailors,  from  a  nest  on  the  top  of  a 
lofty  tree,  secured  two  young  ones,  and,  hoping  to  preserve  them 
alive,  we  took  them  on  board.  For  a  few  days  they  thrived,  and 
I  imagined  that  we  should  have  no  difficulty  in  rearing  them,  but 
I  was  disappointed.  The  skins  of  the  monkeys  and  old  birds 
were  brought  home  in  good  condition ;  those  of  the  young  ones 
were  too  delicate  for  preservation. 


ORANGE  ESTANCIA.  99 

"Our  damage  repaired,  we  proceeded.  Passed  the  Eiaclio  Natu 
on  the  Chaco  side,  in  the  same  parallel  as  Tobaco  Island.  The 
river  now  courses  east  for  ten  miles,  when  it  again  assumes  a 
northerly  direction.  The  right  bank  within  this  distance  is  known 
in  the  country  as  Chimbola  coast." 

I  could  not  learn  the  origin  of  this  designation,  but  it  is  very 
usual  to  find  different  sections  of  the  banks  distinguished  by  some 
particular  name,  occasionally  derived  from  that  of  the  present  or 
former  owners. 

At  the  point  where  the  Parana  pursues  a  northerly  course,  the 
Eiacho  Natu  branches  off,  and  two  miles  above  we  passed  the 
mouth  of  the  Taquari  Chico,  which  rises  in  the  Chaco.  Its  banks, 
so  far  as  we  could  judge,  were  well  wooded,  and  there  was  a 
quantity  of  timber  cut,  ready  for  use.  I  found  imfformly  great 
difficulty  in  procuring  any  information  of  the  interior  of  the  Chaco; 
but,  from  the  appearance  of  its  banks,  and  the  growth  upon  them, 
I  decided  that  the  Taquari  Chico  was  not  a  riacho,  but  a  river. 
Opposite  its  mouth  is  an  island  of  the  same  name,  and  five  miles 
above  is  the  little  village  of  Capilla  del  Senor — "  Chapel  of  the 
Lord,"  on  the  elevated  land  of  the  left  bank.  An  island  inter- 
cepts the  view  when  on  the  same  parallel ;  and  between  it  and  the 
main  land  courses  a  riacho  of  equal  width  with  the  main  channel, 
which  some  years  past  was  navigable  for  vessels  of  the  iisual  size, 
but  it  now  admits  only  of  the  passage  of  boats. 

Passing  this  island,  we  had  again  the  firm  lands  of  Corrientes, 
washed  by  the  waters  of  the  lifain  river  for  a  distance  of  fifteen 
miles,  to  the  estancia  Domingo  de  la  Torre.  This  is  the  property 
of  Don  Pedro  Domingo  de  la  Torre,  and  is  reputed  to  be  one  of  the 
finest  estancias  in  the  province.  It  is  famous  for  its  orange-groves, 
in  which  there  are  five  thousand  trees  in  full  bearing,  and  the  same 
number  coming  on ;  the  net  profit  from  it  is,  as  I  learned,  five 
thousand  dollars  per  annum,  for  the  facilities  of  navigation  ren- 
der the  cultivation  of  this  fruit  profitable ;  and  though  the  oranges 
of  Corrientes  are  not  equal,  either  in  size  or  quality,  to  those  of 
Brazil  or  Paraguay,  they  are  good,  and  meet  with  a  ready  sale, 
not  only  in  the  markets  of  Buenos  Ayres,  but  in  all  the  villages 
and  towns  of  the  country.  Next  to  beef,  it  is  among  all  classes 
the  principal  and  favorite  article  of  food,  and  my  only  astonish- 
ment is  that  groves  are  not  to  be  found  on  all  the  estancias  of  the 
country,  where  soil  and  climate  both  favor  their  propagation. 

For  the  first  time,  we  met  with  the  Camiloie^  a  species  of  water- 


100  ARRIVAL  AT  CORRIENTES. 

lily,  which  floats  with  the  current,  and  is  a  sure  indication  of  the 
rising  of  the  waters  in  the  higher  parts  of  the  river.  This  plant 
grows  with  great  rapidity  during  the  season  of  low  water,  near 
the  banks,  but  at  the  rise  it  is  rooted  up  and  carried  down  by  the 
current.  Here,  too,  we  could  see  the  effect  of  the  mingling  of  the 
waters  of  the  Parana  and  Vermejo.  The  latter,  flowing  through 
a  more  recent  alluvial  formation,  and  with  a  current  of  one  third 
greater  velocity,  rushes  into  the  comparatively  limpid  waters  of 
the  Parana,  carrying  an  immense  quantity  of  detritus. 

Corrientes  is  twelve  miles  above  the  Estancia  Domingo  de  la 
Torre.  Between  these  two  points,  on  the  right  bank,  a  riachu- 
elo  and  a  more  important  stream,  the  Eio  Negro,  flow  into  the 
Parana  from  the  Chaco.  The  latter,  it  is  said,  affords  good'boat 
navigation  for  a  long  distance  into  the  interior.  Fine  timber  is 
found  on  the  banks,  which  is  floated  down  to  its  mouth,  and  re- 
ceived on  board  of  vessels  below. 

We  anchored  off  Corrientes  on  the  23d  of  September.  My  first 
visit  was  to  the  governor,  Seiior  Don  Juan  Pujol.  As  it  was  an 
ofl&cial  call,  it  was  made  at  La  Gasa  delEsiado — "  The  State  House," 
a  one-storied  quadrangular  building  of  brick,  with  a  wide  entrance 
leading  to  a  court,  upon  which  opened  all  the  reception  rooms 
and  ofl&ces.  As  my  name  was  announced  in  entering,  the  gov- 
ernor, who  was  seated  at  a  long  table  covered  with  business-look- 
ing documents,  rose,  and  advanced  with  many  courteous  expres- 
sions of  welcome.  Placing  me  upon  a  sofa,  he  seated  himself,  and, 
after  the  usual  civilities,  turned  the  conversation  to  the  explora- 
tion of  the  rivers.  He  spoke  with  deep  interest  of  the  benefit  it 
would  confer  upon  the  Argentine  States,  and  alluded  to  the  iso- 
lated condition  which  the  selfish  policy  of  Eosas  had  imposed 
upon  them,  and  the  consequent  ignorance  of  the  people  as  to 
the  wealth  of  their  own  resources.  Our  expedition,  he  hoped, 
would  stimulate  immigration  and  commercial  enterprise  toward 
La  Plata,  Governor  Pujol  showed  himself  to  be  a  man  of  intel- 
ligence and  education;  and  after  an  interview  and  conversation 
protracted  far  beyond  the  limits  of  an  official  visit,  by  a  manifest 
disposition  on  his  part  to  do  so,  I  left  him,  with  the  assurance 
that  any  aid  in  his  power  for  the  advancement  of  our  work  would 
be  given.  These  professions  were  made  with  apparent  sincerity, 
and  I  afterward  had  the  satisfaction  to  find  that  they  were  acted 
out  in  good  faith. 

The  following  day  the  governor,  accompanied  by  a  friend,  re- 


NAVIGATION  OF  THE  PAKANA,  103 

turned  my  visit,  and  was  welcomed  on  board  the  first  United 
States  man-of-war  that  ha^  touched  at  Corrientes.  I  explained 
to  him  that,  fitted  up  for  an  exploring  expedition,  we  hesitated 
to  call  her  a  war  steamer,  but  could  show  him  some  fire-arms  of 
the  latest  improvement,  in  the  examination  of  which  he  ex- 
pressed great  interest. 

Corrientes  has  twelve  thousand  inhabitants,  and  is  on  the  left 
l^ank  of  the  Parana,  twenty  miles  below  its  junction  with  the 
Paragiiay.  It  has  an  extended  water-front,  and  the  anchorage 
admits  of  a  near  approach  to  the  shore,  where  vessels  are  re- 
moved from  the  influence  of  the  currents,  ^e  town  is  laid  out 
in  the  usual  style  of  Spanish  American  cities,  with  streets  inter- 
secting each  other  at  right  angles.  There  are  several  churches 
of  some  architectural  pretension,  but  generally  the  buildings  are 
one-storied,  with  "  azoteas."  The  better  class  of  private  dwell- 
ings are  of  brick,  very  spacious,  with  open  courts  adorned  with 
orange-trees  and  gay  flowers.  They  are  all  neatly  plastered  and 
whitewashed  on  the  exterior.  The  interior  arrangements,  with- 
out any  effort  at  decoration,  are  comfortable.  The  rooms  are 
constructed  with  a  special  regard  to  the  climate,  and,  with  the 
same  consideration,  simply  but  appropriately  furnished.  I  shall 
again  allude  to  this  place,  as  the  operations  of  the  expedition 
obliged  us  subsequently  to  visit  it. 

Before  proceeding  farther,  it  may  not  be  unimportant  to  note 
one  or  two  facts  connected  with  our  passage  up  the  "  Parana," 
and  to  sum  up  the  names  and  distances  of  the  most  prominent 
points,  from  its  mouth  at  Martin  Garcia  to  its  junction  with  the 
Paraguay.  It  must  be  remembered  that  the  Water  Witch,  with  a 
draught  of  nine  feet,  ascended  the  Parana  in  the  month  of  Sep- 
tember, the  season  of  low  water,  when  the  pilot  pronounced  the 
river  lower  than  usual ;  that  she  encountered  no  shoal  which  she 
could  not  pass  over  with  that  draught,  and  that  the  least  depth 
ever  shown  by  the  lead  in  the  channel  was  nine  feet.  The  navi- 
gation is  attended  with  no  danger;  there  are  neither  rocks  nor 
sunken  trees  to  impede  the  way,  and,  notwithstanding  the  shiftmg 
of  the  channel  which  annually  takes  place  at  some  points,  there  is 
always  one  open  with  the  usual  depth  of  water.  The  velocity  of 
the  current  is  two  and  a  half  miles  the  hour.  The  rise  of  the  wa- 
ter, which  begins  in  December,  is  about  twelve  feet.  It  reaches 
its  maximum  in  February  and  March,  and  its  minimum  in  August. 
There  is  also  a  partial  rise  of  six  feet  in  October,  which,  rapid  and 


104  THE  EIVER  PROVINCES. 

transient,  continues  one  montli,  then  falls  to  its  former  level  in  tlie 
same  space  of  time.  From  Diamante  Upward  there  are  fine  woods, 
and  much  of  it  is  excellent  as  fuel  for  steamers ;  beef  and  fruits 
may  be  purchased  at  all  the  towns,  and  game  and  fish  had  for  the 
trouble  of  seeking  them.  But  the  Spanish  Americans  care  little 
for  this  latter  food— indeed,  they  are  prejudiced  against  it;  and 
above  Buenos  Ayres,  where  a  large  foreign  population  gives  rise 
to  a  demand  for  it,  the  people,  neither  for  trade  nor  amusement, 
employ  themselves  in  fishing.  ^ 

The  confluence  of  the  Parana  and  Paraguay  is  about  one  thou- 
sand miles  from  tha  Atlantic.  The  country  on  both  sides  is  fer- 
tile, and  above  Buenos  Ayres,  on  the  firm  lands,  there  are  nu- 
merous estancias,  extending  from  the  river  banks  for  many  miles 
into  the  interior.  I  have  been  filled  with  amazement  at  the  re- 
sources of  these  "  riverine"  provinces,  and  their  availability,  with- 
out the  construction  of  roads,  canals,  or  even  the  usual  obstruc- 
tions of  river  navigation,  for  direct  trade  with  foreign  countries. 
In  this  course  of  one  thousand  miles,  the  cereals,  vegetables,  fruits, 
woods,  and  flora  of  almost  every  zone  may  be  grown  to  perfection, 
as  is  proved  by  the  actual  products  under  the  present  primitive 
system  of  culture.  The  horned  cattle,  horses,  and  sheep  are  re- 
markably fine,  and  their  existing  numbers,  spite  of  the  civil  wars 
which  have  distracted  the  country,  show  the  extraordinary  adapt- 
ability of  the  climate  and  natural  pastures  to  their  increase.  The 
population  is  sufficient  to  form  the  basis  of  an  extended  and  im- 
mediate trade ;  and  the  Indians,  with  the  exception  of  the  warlike 
tribes  of  the  Chaco,  are  quiet  or  semi-civilized.  The  climate  is 
benign,  even  in  low,  marshy  neighborhoods,  as  experienced  by 
ourselves,  and  attested  by  many  writers,  particularly  Azara,  who 
was  employed  by  the  Spanish  government  to  run  the  boundary- 
line  between  its  possessions  and  those  of  Portugal,  and  spent 
twenty  years  of  his  life  in  this  work.  The  Spanish  Americans 
and  Mestizos  we  met  with  were  uniformly  friendly  and  hospitable, 
and  the  cities  and  small  towns  offer  some  agreeable  society.  Be- 
yond or  above  Buenos  Ayres  there  are  neither  Protestant  schools 
nor  churches,  but  there  is  nothing  forbidding  them  in  the  Consti- 
tution of  the  Argentine  Confederation. 

The  distances  of  points  alluded  to  in  the  ascent  of  the  Parana, 
between  its  mouth  or  "Martin  Garcia"  and  "  Cerito,"  at  the 
mouth  of  the  Paraguay,  are,  in  statute  miles,  as  follows : 


TABLE  OF  DISTANCES.  105 

From  ]\Iartin  Garcia  to  the  Guazu 24  miles. 

«     Guazu*  to  San  Pedro 88  " 

«     San  Pedro  to  San  Nicholas 40  " 

"      «       "       to  Obligado  . 10  " 

"  San  Nicholas  to  Arroyo  del  Medio     ....  2  " 

«       «         "         to  Rosario 52  " 

"     Eosario  to  San  Lorenzo 14^  " 

"          "      to  mouth  of  the  Cacarafia 22  " 

«           "       to  Diamante 67  " 

"     Diamante  to  Parana 36  " 

'•     Parana  to  La  Paz 102  " 

'•     La  Paz  to  Goya 145  " 

'•     Goya  to  Bella  Vista 53  « 


(( 


"     Bella  Vista  to  Corrientes 81 

«     Corrientes  to  Cerito 18     « 


CHAPTER  YI. 

The  Waters  of  the  Paracruay  and  Parana. — Affluents  of  the  Paraguay. — Enter 
the  Territory  of  Paraguay. — Salute  to  the  Admiral  of  the  Navy  of  the  Republic 
of  Paraguay. — Visit  from  the  Admiral. — Boundaries  of  the  South  American  Re- 
publics.— Banks  of  the  Paraguay. — Palm-trees  and  beautiful  Scenery. — Guardias 
and  Piquetes. — Tres  Bocas. — Guardia  Humaita. — President  Louez  and  the  Bra- 
zilian Squadron. — Vermejo  River. — Pillar. — Caiia. — Caranday  Palm. — The  Ti- 
biquari. — Salute  of  Musketry. — Villa  Franca. — The  Commandante. — The  Las- 
so and  Bolas. — Oliva. — Villa  Villeta. — A  Cigar  with  the  Commandante. — San 
Antonio. — Mount  Lambare. — Arrival  at  Asuncion. — Rise  and  Fall  of  the  Para- 
guay. 

After  remaining  tliree  days  at  Corrientes,  we  obtained  observa- 
tions for  determining  its  geographical  position  and  variation  of  the 
compass,  I  also  commenced  here  a  series  of  observations,  to  be 
pursued  at  suitable  points,  for  determining  the  characteristics  of  the 
waters  of  the  eastern  and  western  affluents.  "While  those  from 
the  east  are  generally  pure,  those  flowing  from  the  west,  through 
the  Chaco,  are,  with  few  exceptions,  saline.  Azara  says  that  m 
summer,  at  the  season  of  low  water,  nearly  all  the  springs,  lakes, 
and  streams  of  that  region  are  "  more  or  less  brackish."  Accord- 
ing to  Father  Patino,  a  Jesuit,  who  in  1721,  accompanied  by  sev- 
eral of  his  order  and  sixty  Guarani  Indians,  made  a  partial  ex- 
ploration of  the  Pilcomayo,  with  the  hope  of  discovering  a  water 
communication  between  the  missions  of  Chiquitos  and  those  of  the 

*  ^louth  of  the  Parana. 


106  ENTER  THE  TERRITORY  OF  PARAGUAY. 

east,  the  lands  through  which  this  river  courses  are  in  many 
places  strongly  impregnated  with  salt,  "saZ  comun  bueno,  en  varias 
partes  de  las  harrancai'' — "  Grood  common  salt  in  various  parts  of 
the  banks." 

Much  to  my  surprise,  I  found  that  the  graduation  of  the  hy- 
drometer sunk  entirely  below  the  surface  of  the  water,  thus  giving 
no  reading.  I  was  unwilling  to  believe  that  the  mingled  waters 
of  the  Parana  and  Paraguay  were  of  less  specific  gravity  than  dis- 
tilled or  pure  rain  water.  The  standard  temperature  of  the  instru- 
ment was  60°  Fahrenheit,  some  degrees  below  that  of  the  water 
we  were  now  endeavoring  to  test :  in  that  lay  a  solution  of  the 
difficulty. 

To  the  junction  of  the  Parana  and  Paraguay,  twenty  miles  above 
Corrientes,  the  course  of  the  former  river  is  interrupted  by  low 
islands.  Here  it  takes  a  general  direction  east,  and  the  Paraguay 
a  tortuous  course  north.  Three  miles  above  Corrientes  are  the 
islands  Medio  and  Mesa,  on  the  left.  There  the  water,  hitherto 
comparatively  clear,  becomes  turbid  from  commingling  with  that 
of  the  Vermejo,  or  Ked  River,  so  called  from  the  discoloration 
caused  by  the  detritus  borne  along  by  it  during  the  periodical 
floods.  Some  distance  above,  the  Vermejo  flows  into  the  Para- 
guay. Opposite  the  upper  end  of  the  island  Mesa  is  the  mouth 
of  a  small  arm  of  the  Paraguay,  Riacho  Atajo,  which  branches  off 
from  the  main  river  three  miles  above  its  confluence  with  the  Pa- 
rana. 

A  continuous  chain  of  low  islands  now  skirt  the  west  bank  of 
the  Parana  up  to  that 'of  Atajo,  at  the  confluence  of  the  Parana 
and  Paraguay.  This  island  is  claimed  as  the  territory  of  the  Ar- 
gentine Confederation,  but  Paraguay  has  possession,  and  maintains 
it,  not  by  diplomacy  or  argument,  but  by  the  establishment  of 
a  military  post  upon  it — "Guardia  Cerito,"  latitude  27°  17'  32'', 
longitude  58°  37'  32". 

If  it  had  not  been  the  established  rule  of  our  work  to  anchor 
and  take  observations  at  all  important  points,  custom,  or,  indeed, 
the  laws  of  Paraguay,  made  it  obligatory  to  stop  here  and  commu- 
nicate with  the  commandante  before  continuing  the  ascent  of  the 
river.  Immediately  on  anchoring,  the  Water  Witch  was  visited 
by  two  ofiicers  with  the  compliments  of  the  admiral.  This  was  a 
naval  station,  and  the  officer  in  command,  with  the  imposing  title  of 
"Admiral  of  the  Navy  of  the  Republic  of  Paraguay,!' had  a  squad- 
ron of  five  small  vessels.     We  had  heretofore,  on  all  public  occa- 


THE  ADMIRAL  OF  THE  FLEET.  107 

sions  since  entering  La  Plata,  avoided  firing  salutes  on  account  of 
our  chronometers,  upon  which  the  accuracy  of  the  work  depended. 
I  considered  it  now  useless  to  offer  explanations  or  'excuses,  and 
fearing  that  my  motive  might  be  misinterpreted,  we  took  the  usual 
}-)recautions  to  protect  the  instruments,  and  saluted  the  admiral  (the 
Paraguay  flag  "  at  the  fore")  with  thirteen  guns,  which  was  immedi- 
ately returned  with  a  corresponding  number.  Salutes  having  thus 
been  exchanged,  the  admiral  came  on  board,  and  expressed  mueh 
pleasure  at  our  arrival,  assuring  me  that  a  cordial  welcome  await- 
ed the  expedition  at  Asuncion.  He  had  received,  a  month  previ- 
ously, instructions  from  the  President  to  offer  me  every  facility  for 
Tiscending  the  river ;  to  supply  us  with  any  provisions  we  might 
need,  and  an  experienced  pilot.  This  first  reception  in  the  waters 
of  Paraguay  was  certainly  cheering ;  for,  from  what  we  had  heard, 
we  knew  that  President  Lopez  was  here  the  government  supreme, 
from  whose  orders  there  could  be  no  appeal  or  deviation. 

We  found  the  river  full  at  its  highest  point,  verifying  what  I 
liad  heard,  that  the  seasons  of  high  and  low  water  in  the  Parana 
and  Paraguay  were  the  reverse. 

Observations  having  been  taken,  the  ascent  was  continuedjj  the 
admiral  and  some  of  his  officers  being  on  board,  and  their  canoe  in 
tow.  He  wished  to  witness  the  working  of  our  steamer,  the  first 
United  States  man-of-war  that  had  ever  entered  the  waters  of  the 
Paraguay.  After  ascending  a  mile,  our  friends  took  leave  of  us, 
and  returned  to  Cerito  Guardia. 

The  appearance  of  the  Paraguay  offers  some  striking  contrasts 
to  the  Parana.  Its  general  width  rarely  exceeds  half  a  mile ;  it  has 
comparatively  few  islands,  a  tortuous  course,  and  a  more  open  chan- 
nel.    The  current  is  from  two  to  two  and  a  half  miles  the  hour. 

The  country  on  the  left  bank  is  undisputed  Paraguay  territory ; 
that  on  the  right  is  "El  gran  Chaco."  The  Argentine  Confeder- 
ation claims  the  latter  for  a  distance  covering  the  mouth  of  the 
Vermejo,  but  Paraguay  does  not  recognize  this  right,  and  main- 
tains her  jurisdiction  over  that  part  of  the  river  by  a  naval  and 
military  force,  established  not  only  at  Cerito  Guardia,  but  at  va- 
rious other  points.  It  is  very  difficult  to  obtain  any  reliable  in- 
formation as  to  the  grounds  upon  which  these  territorial  limits  in 
the  Chaco  are  based.  All  the  republics  of  La  Plata  have  among 
them  unsettled  questions  of  boundary,  but  those  relating  to  this 
country  are  founded  upon  original  treaties  made  when  the  entire 
southern  hemisphere  was  divided  between  Spain  and  Portugal. 


108  BANKS  OF  THE  PARAGUAY. 

The  ground  in  dispute  between  the  Argentine  States  and  Paraguay- 
has  only  an  extent  of  twenty-seven  miles  in  latitude  and  forty  by 
the  course  of  the  river,  scarcely  the  length  of  many  estancias;  and 
in  La  Plata,  where  there  are  extended  regions  of  fertile  but  waste 
lands,  would  be  of  no  consequence  but  for  its  geographical  features. 
It  gives  Paraguay  command  of  the  mouth  of  theVermejo,  a  river 
known  to  be  navigable  to  the  northwest  provinces  of  the  Argent- 
ine Confederation,  Salta  and  Jujui. 

The  banks  of  the  Paraguay  are  less  elevated  than  those  of  the 
Parana ;  up  to  Asuncion,  they  rarely  exceed  twenty-five  feet.  To 
within  a  short  distance  of  the  capital  their  geological  formation  is 
unvarying:  a  substratum  of  yellowish  sand  of  about  ten  feet  thick- 
ness, a  middle  stratum  of  earthy  clay,  and  a  surface  virgin  soil  of 
about  three  feet.    The  timber  is  abundant,  and  of  excellent  quality. 

"In  the  isles  of  the  Parana,"  says  my  journal,  "we  have  seen 
the  lovely  gardens  of  La  Plata,  we  have  now  before  us  her  parks. 
It  is  the  region  of  the  palm,  which  here  rises  to  a  great  height. 
The  grass  is  green,  luxuriant,  and  clean  as  a  well-kept  lawn ;  deer 
gambol  under  the  trees,  and  it  needs  not  a  vivacious  imagination 
to  conceive  that,  at  each  bend  in  the  river,  some  noble  mansion,  to 
which  these  parks  pertain,  will  appear.  A  few  habitations  are 
alone  wanted  to  animate  the  landscape,  and  complete  the  pleasant 
association  of  homes  in  this  fair  land.  There  are  extended  for- 
ests of  these  palms,  so  symmetrical,  fresh,  free  from  all  that  could 
detract  from  their  beauty ;  growing  apart  at  such  exact,  apparent- 
ly measured  distances,  that  we  are  filled  with  astonishment  and 
admiration." 

The  eastbarre:  of  the  river  is  defended  by  (j'warc^^'as  oxidi  piqueies 
throughout  the  extent  of  Paraguay,  each  occupied  by  from  six  to 
twelve  men ;  the  piquetes  being  placed  at  intervals  of  three  miles, 
while  the  guardias  are  more  distant  apart.  They  are  the  stations 
of  a  river  police  for  the  detection  and  prevention  of  smuggling, 
and  also  dispatch  offices  for  the  rapid  transmission  of  intelligence 
to  the  capital.  On  the  west  bank  there  are  no  guardias ;  and  in- 
asmuch as  the  Indians  of  the  Chaco  have  no  canoes,  the  river  is 
considered  a  sufiicient  barrier  to  prevent,  on  their  part,  any  hostile 
or  predatory  incursions. 

Great  as  was  the  luxuriance  of  vegetation  upon  the  Parana,  as 
we  approach  the  equator  I  find  it  enriched  by  a  more  varied  and 
brilliant  flora.  Flowering  shrubs  abound,  and  delicately  fragrant 
epiphytes.     The  trunks  of  large  trees  are  enwrapped  by  climbing 


GUAKDIAS  AND  TIQUETES.  109 

plants,  their  long  tendrils  pendent,  or  festooning  tlie  lowest  witli 
the  topmost  branches,  and  enameling  the  dark  foliage  with  their 
many-hued  blossoms. 

The  most  unportant  guardia  above  Cerito  is  that  of  Tres  Bocas 
— "  Three  Mouihs^^^  so  called  from  there  being  at  that  point  two 
branches  from  the  main  river,  the  Atajo,  to  which  I  have  alluded, 
and  the  Pires,  which  flows  into  the  Parana  some  few  miles  above 
its  junction  with  the  Paraguay.  Though  distant  from  Cerito  five 
miles,  these  two  guardias  are  often  confounded  with  each  other 
under  the  name  of  Tres  Bocas.  Around  the  larger  "guardias" 
there  is  some  little  cultivation  of  corn  and  mandioca,  but  as  abodes 
they  are  generally  desolate  places.  The  houses  consist  merely  of 
posts  planted  in  the  ground,  interlaced  with  bamboo,  filled  in 
with  mud,  and  thatched  with  common  grass.  The  look-out  is  a 
platform  of  about  sixty  feet  in  height,  open  at  the  sides,  and 
thatched  with  straw.  It  is  generally  so  placed  as  to  command  an 
extensive  view  up  and  down  the  river.  The  piquetes  are  simply 
thatched  sheds,  with  raw-hide  hammocks  for  the  men,  suspended 
so  as  to  be  protected  by  the  roof  from  rain.  Of  these,  the  Guar- 
dia Humaita  occupied  one  of  the  most  commanding  points  on  the 
Lower  Paraguay,  and  there  President  Lopez,  in  1855,  erected  quite 
a  formidable  battery,  in  anticipation  of  troubles  with  Brazil,  and 
probably — certainly  with  good  reason — with  the  United  States. 

The  imperial  government  felt  aggrieved  at  some  indignities 
offered  to  its  minister  at  Asuncion,  and  sent  a  large  naval  force, 
consisting  of  several  war  steamers  and  transports,  under  the  com- 
mand of  Admiral ,  to  demand  satisfaction.     We  are  left  to 

infer,  from  a  subsequent  debate  in  the  Imperial  Legislature  at 
Eio  de  Janeiro,  that  this  officer  was  sent  with  discretionary  power 
to  fight  or  negotiate,  as  circumstances  might  render  necessary. 
Negotiation  was  first  resorted  to,  pending  which  the  battery  at 
Humaita  was  erected,  and  the  imperial  squadron,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  the  admiral's  flag-ship,  in  which  he  ascended  to  Asuncion, 
was  kept  below.  This  river  defense  was  pushed  on  with  great 
rapidity,  and  is  of  such  strength  that  I  believe  it  might  have  ar- 
rested the  ascent  of  the  squadron.  The  delay  incident  to  this  ne- 
gotiation was  a  move  on  the  diplomatic  chess-board  showing  abil- 
ity and  astuteness  on  the  part  of  President  Lopez.  The  expedition 
was  at  that  time  a  failure ;  it,  however,  led  to  some  after-proposi- 
tion which  resulted  in  an  amicable  settlement  of  the  differences, 
and  the  opening  of  the  Paraguay  to  Brazilian  vessels  up  to  the 


110  THE  VERMEJO.— PILAK. 

northwest  province  of  the  empire,  whose  natural  outlet  is  un- 
doubtedly this  river.  This  act  of  President  Lopez,  if  extended 
to  all  flags,  might  be  classed  with  the  decree  of  Urquiza  which 
opened  the  Argentine  waters  to  the  commerce  of  nations.* 

In  latitude  26°  51'  52"  south,  longitude  58°  28'  21''  west,  forty- 
eight  miles  above  Cerito,  the  Eiver  Vermejo  pours  its  muddy 
waters  into  the  Paraguay  from  the  west.  It  rises  in  the  Cordil- 
leras of  the  southern  parts  of  Bolivia,  and  receives,  in  addition  to 
many  minor  tributaries,  the  more  important  river  Jujuy,  or  Lava- 
yan,  which  flows  from  the  western  ranges  of  Salta.  From  Palca 
de  Soria,  where  the  Vermejo  may  be  said  to  enter  the  Chaco,  it 
takes  i,he  general  direction  of  southeast,  under  a  very  tortuous 
course,  to  its  junction  with  the  Paraguay,  directly  opposite  to  a 
guardia  of  the  same  name,  undoubtedly  placed  there  to  give  the 
republic  exclusive  control  over  its  mouth. 

All  the  villages  and  guardias  of  Paraguay  that  have  been  or 
may  hereafter  be  mentioned,  it  must  be  remembered,  are  on  the 
east  side  of  the  river,  with  the  exception  of  Cerito,  which  is  upon 
an  island.  Pilar,  in  latitude  26°  51'  9",  longitude  58°  22'  85",  is 
the  first  village  we  meet  with  in  ascendmg.  In  the  time  of  Fran- 
cia,  and  before  the  opening  of  the  river  to  Asuncion,  this  town, 
known  as  Nembucu,  was  a  place  of  some  commercial  activity; 
that  is,  it  was  the  only  port  on  the  Paraguay  open  to  trade,  and 
even  to  this  point  only  those  vessels  that  had  received  especial 
permission  could  ascend. 

We  called  upon  the  commandante,  from  whom  I  received  many 
assurances  of  his  desire  to  serve  us.  Cigars  of  the  native  tobacco 
were  handed  around,  and  cana — a  liquor  extracted  from  the  sugar- 
cane, of  which  each  member  of  the  company  was  expected  to 
take  a  sip.  This  hquor  is  usually  taken  without  water,  and  is  the 
most  potent  tipple  that  I  have  ever  tasted.  As  soon  as  good-breed- 
ing would  permit,  I  reheved  my  mouth  of  the  burning  sensation 
it  produced  by  a  glass  of  water.  Pilar  has  two  thousand  inhab- 
itants, and  is  prettily  placed  on  a  fertile  plain,  elevated  some 
twenty  feet  above  the  river.  The  streets  are  at  right  angles,  and 
the  houses,  of  one  story,  plastered  and  whitewashed,  are  roofed 
either  with  tile,  the  trunks  of  palm-trees,  or  thatched. 

This  species  of  palm,  the  Caranday  {Copernicia  cerifera)^  forms 
an  excellent  covering  in  this  climate,  and  will  last  for  thirty  years. 
The  trunks  of  the  trees  are  divided,  and  the  interior  wood,  which 

*  This  has  more  recently  been  done. 


THE  TIBIQUARI.— VILLA  FRANCA.  HI 

is  very  fibrous,  taken  out,  leaving  a  shell  of  from  one  and  a  half 
to  two  inches  in  thickness,  which  becomes  hard  and  flinty  when 
dry.  These  are  placed  side  by  side,  with  the  convex  surface  up, 
extending  from  the  pitch  to  the  eaves ;  their  edges,  when  brought 
together,  are  covered  by  a  third  trunk,  forming  a  roof  not  unhke 
tile,  and  quite  as  impervious  to  rain.  This  is  the  usual  mode  of 
covering  the  quintas  and  ranchos  on  the  river,  and  the  Chaco  op- 
posite furnishes  an  inexhaustible  supply  of  material. 

I  found  great  difficulty  here,  as  in  every  part  of  Paraguay,  in 
obtaining  any  statistics,  and  can  scarcely  say  whether  this  was  to 
be  attributed  to  the  ignorance  of  the  people,  or  to  suspicion  of  my 
motive  in  making  such  inquiries.  Some  of  the  officers  of  the 
Water  "Witch  occupied  themselves  with  observations  for  geograph- 
ical determination,  while  others  added  to  our  collection  by  obtain- 
ing specimens  of  rare  fish,  and  supplied  our  table  with  several  va- 
rieties of  excellent  quahty. 

Thirty  miles  above  Pilar  the  Tibiquari  empties  into  the  Para- 
guay on  the  left  bank.  It  rises  in  the  central  sierras  of  Paraguay, 
and  in  a  westerly  course  passes  through  the  most  populous  and 
fertile  districts  of  the  country.  It  could,  at  a  mere  nominal  ex- 
pense, be  made  navigable  at  all  seasons  for  steamers  of  two  feet 
draught.  The  principal  products  of  the  interior,  corn  and  tobac- 
co, now  transported  in  wagons  carrying  one  and  a  half  tons  each, 
could  be  conveyed  to  the  capital  in  steamers  of  the  capaQJty  of 
fifty  wagons  in  half  the  time,  and  at  one  third  the  cost.  This 
river  separates  the  two  provinces,  Villa  Franca  on  the  north,  and 
Pilar  on  the  south.  The  former  is  remarkable  for  its  fertihty,  and 
its  prmcipal  town,  of  the  same  name,  is  on  the  Paraguay,  fifty- 
nine  miles  above  Pilar. 

On  approaching  Villa  Franca,  I  discovered,  from  the  movements 
of  the  guard,  that  we  were  expected  to  land ;  I  consequently  came 
to  anchor.  The  bank  leading  to  the  town  is  ascended  from  the 
river  by  a  flight  of  steps,  and,  as  we  reached  the  top,  a  squad  of 
soldiers  drawn  up  honored  our  arrival  by  two  rounds  of  musketry. 
The  novelty  of  this  salute  was  rather  startling,  but  we  acknowl- 
edged it  with  due  gravity,  as  a  mark  of  respect  for  the  "  flag." 
The  commandante  received  us  with  the  usual  ceremonies  and 
hospitality. 

General  Lopez,  the  son  of  the  president,  who  is  conunander-in- 
chief  of  the  army,  was,  at  the  time  of  our  arrival  in  Paraguay,  ab- 
sent on  a  diplomatic  mission  to  the  leading  powers  of  Europe. 


112 


LASSO  AND  BOLAS. 


The  good  commandante  spoke  witli  enthusiasm  of  his  absent  gen- 
eral. He  seemed  to  have  a  vague  idea  that  he  had  been  dispatch- 
ed to  a  great  distance  on  very  important  business,  but  was  rather 
at  a  loss  to  know  whether  that  journey  extended  beyond  the  lim- 
its of  Paraguay.  He  had  magnificent  ideas  of  the  vastness  and 
pohtical  importance  of  his  country,  a  delusion,  I  afterward  discov- 
ered, not  peculiar  to  himself. 


08E  OF  THE  LASBO  AUD  BOLAS. 


At  his  earnest  request  I  accepted  a  beef  for  the  ship's  company; 
for  a  bullock  is  here  taken  from  the  herd,  slaughtered,  and  por- 
tions served  up  at  table  in  less  time  than  it  would  take  to  kill  and 
cook  a  fowl  with  us.  In  an  incredibly  short  time  after  my  ac- 
ceptance of  his  offer,  a  bellowing,  plunging  animal  was  brought 


OLIVA.— VILLA  VILLETA.  II3 

under  the  lasso,  to  the  bank  in  front  of  the  steamer,  and  there 
slaughtered  for  our  use. 

Twelve  miles  beyond  Yilla  Franca,  and  a  quarter  of  a  mile 
from  the  banks  of  the  Paraguay,  is  the  village  Oliva.  Here  the, 
]  iver  takes  a.  serpentine  course,  and,  for  the  first  tune,  the  banks 
on  the  Chaco  side  rise  to  the  height  of  twenty  feet,  presenting  a 
deep  stratum  of  reddish  clay  beneath  the  vegetable  surface-soil. 
They  are  well  timbered  with  lapacho,  quebracho,  urunday,  and  a 
variety  of  other  woods.  Again  this  forest  is  succeeded  by  palms, 
which,  like  those  of  Paraguay,  rise  from  vigorous  and  verdant 
plains  of  grass,  without  under-growth.  Oliva  stands  on  a  plain 
twenty  feet  above  the  river,  which  has  here  overflowed  the  low 
lands  in  front,  although  this  is  not  the  reputed  season  of  high  wa- 
ter ;  for  the  same  uniformity  which  marks  the  periodical  changes 
of  the  Parana  does  not  prevail  in  the  Paraguay.  Twelve  miles 
above  this  village,  on  the  Chaco  side,  is  Monte  Linda,  a  beautiful 
grove  of  catigua. 

From  Oliva  to  Villa  Villeta,  the  next  small  town  on  the  Para- 
guay, the  distance  is  sixty-two  miles.  We  anchored  here  after 
dark.  As  I  was  anxious  to  proceed  early  the  next  morning,  not- 
withstanding the  hour,  I  called  to  pay  my  respects  to  the  chief 
chgnitary  of  the  village,  whom  I  found  seated  under  the  project- 
ing roof  of  his  house,  surrounded  by  his  family.  While  the  offi- 
cers amused  a  group  of  villagers  who  had  gathered  around  them 
with  tales  of  the  dangers  they  had  passed,  I  smoked  a  cigar  with 
the  commandante  by  the  dim  light  of  a  lantern  that  hung  in  front 
of  his  dwelling,  designed  as  much  to  attract  the  musquitoes  from 
within  as  to  give  light  to  the  company  without.  Nearly  all  the 
houses  of  Villa  Villeta  are  constructed  with  these  projections, 
which  serve  the  double  purpose  of  protecting  them  from  the 
scorching  rays  of  the  sun,  and  in  the  evening  as  places  of  resort 
for  the  inhabitants,  who  there  sit,  gossip  and  smoke — the  latter 
an  accomplishment  not  limited  to  age  or  sex. 

A  short  distance  above  this  village  the  fine  rolling  lands  of 
Paraguay  opened  before  us,  with  inclosed  and  well-cultivated 
fields  of  corn,  tobacco,  and  mandioca,  alternated  by  beautiful  palm 
groves.  Nothing  could  be  more  picturesque  or  verdant  than  the 
country  on  both  sides,  and  we  had  here  what  alone  was  needed 
to  perfect  the  landscapes  below — habitations  and  culture.  Eanchos 
and  quintas,  surrounded  by  orange  groves,  were  dotted  here  and 
there,  multiplying  as  we  approached  the  capital. 

8 


114  ARRIVAL  AT  ASUNCION. 

Six  miles  above  Yilleta  is  the  guardia  of  San  Antonio,  whicli 
was  occupied  in  1853  by  "  the  American  Company"  established  in 
Paraguay.  Beyond  this  guardia  we  passed  Mount  Lambare,  an 
isolated,  conical  wooded  hill,  of  basaltic  formation,  rising  abruptly 
from  the  river  bank  to  the  height  of  three  hundred  and  twelve 
feet.  On  the  opposite  or  Chaco  side  is  the  Eiacho  Yaguare,  into 
which  empties  the  Eiver  Ypita,  considered  by  some  one  of  the 
two  mouths  of  the  Pilcomayo. 

A  mile  or  two  below  the  capital,  the  left  banks  become  quite 
precipitous,  presenting  a  stratum  of  reddish  chalk  beneath  the 
surface-soil ;  and  immediately  opposite  is  an  island,  across  which 
is  seen  the  upper  branch  or  mouth  of  the  Pilcomayo.  Here  the 
Paraguay  turns  abruptly  east,  and  a  mile  above,  on  the  left  bank, 
stands  Asuncion. 

We  anchored  oif  the  town  on  the  1st  of  October,  and  received 
a  visit  from  the  captain  of  the  port.  Preliminaries  arranged,  a 
national  salute  was  fired  from  the  Water  Witch,  with  the  Para- 
guay flag  at  the  fore,  which  was  returned  by  the  field-pieces  of 
the  garrison  at  the  government  house. 

The  general  width  of  the  Paraguay  up  to  the  capital  is  half  a 
mile,  at  some  points  less  than  a  quarter.  The  least  depth  found 
was  twenty  feet,  the  greatest  seventy -two,  and  "  no  bottom." 
Yelocity  of  current  in  general,  two  miles  per  hour.  There  seems 
to  be  less  uniformity  in  its  rise  and  fall  than  in  those  of  the  Pa- 
rana. It  has  now  reached  its  maximum  height,  which  it  ordi- 
narily attains  in  December,  and  this  is  but  the  beginning  of  the 
"rising  season."  With  a  view  of  determining,  with  some  degree 
of  accuracy,  its  rise  and  fall,  a  graduated  staff  was  "planted"  in 
a  suitable  place,  and  the  fall  of  the  river  observed  from  the  24th 
of  October,  1853,  to  the  81st  of  March,  1854,  throughout  one  en- 
tire period  of  falling,  and  a  portion  of  its  rise.  It  was  estimated, 
at  the  time  of  the  erection  of  the  staff,  that  the  waters  had  fallen 
two  feet,  and,  judging  from  the  rate  at  which  it  fell,  the  river  must 
have  been  at  its  highest  point  the  1st  of  October.  The  greatest 
fall  from  October  1st  to  February  5th  was  thirteen  feet  three 
inches. 

To  a  clear  comprehension  of  the  fluctuation  in  the  river  during 
the  time  embraced,  I  take  from  the  journal  the  following  table 
kept  by  Lieutenant  Ammen. 


RISE  AND  FALL  OF  THE  PARAGUAY.  Hg 

Statement  of  the  fall  and  nse  of  the  River  Paragxmy,  at  Asuncion,  from 
October  \st,  1853,  to  March  31s/,  1854.  The  river  was  above  its  ordi- 
7iary  high  water  on  the  \st  of  October. 

Ft.  In. 

From  October    1st  to  24th,  supposed  fall  by  marks    ...  2  00 

«  "        24th  to  31st,  by  staflP,  river  fell 0  08 

«  «        31st  to  29th  Nov.      "       "     2  06 

«       Nov.     29th  to  2tth  Dec.       "       «     4  00 

«       Dec.      2tth  to     5th  Jan.       «       "     2  05 

«       Jan.        5th  to  12th    «  «       "     0  08 

Fall  of  river  from  October  1st  to  Jan.  12th 12  03 

From  January  12th  to  Jan.  21st,  river  rose  .......  .011 

Difference  of  level  from  Oct.  1st  to  Jan.  21st 11  04 

rt.   Tn. 

From  Jan.  21st  to  Jan.  30th,  river  fell 0  09 

«       "     30th  to  Feb.    5th      «      « 1_02 

fTi— 1  11 

Greatest  fall  from  Oct.  1st  to  Feb.  5th 13  03 

On  February  28th,  same  level. 

From     "         28th  to  March  31st,  river  rose 5  09 

Difference  of  level  from  October  1st  to  March  31st 1  06 

The  width  of  the  river  at  Asuncion  by  calculation  was  found 
to  be  six  hundred  and  five  yards.  It  has,  up  to  the  capital,  few 
islands,  and  the  navigation  is  less  difficult  than  that  of  the  Parana. 
Its  waters  are  confined  within  narrower  limits,  and  its  channel 
has  more  uniformly  the  same  depth.  It  has  no  such  obstructions 
as  rocks  or  sunken  trees,  but  sufficient  depth  throughout  the  year 
for  the  largest  river  steamers,  and  enough  at  certain  seasons  for 
vessels  of  sixteen  feet — the  greatest  draught  that  could  be  carried 
over  the  bar  at  Martin  Grarcia  Island,  under  the  ordinary  rise  of 
the  tide  at  that  point.  The  banks  are  wooded  with  fine  timber 
throughout,  save  at  limited  sections  subject  to  inundation.  Much 
of  this  wood  is  valuable  for  building  and  ornamental  purposes, 
and  also  as  fuel  for  steamers,  and  the  waters  contain  a  great  vari- 
ety of  excellent  fish,  that  may  be  caught  either  with  seine  or  hook 
and  line. 


116  INTERVIEW  WITH  LOPEZ. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

Interviews  with  President  Lopez. — Negotiations.^Residence  at  Asuncion. — The 
City. — Buildings. — Francia's  Tomb. — Francia's  Cruelties. — Isolation  of  Para- 
guay.— Francia's  System. — Dahlgreen's  Howitzer. — The  American  Company. — 
Celebration  of  Lopez's  Birth-day. — Reception  at  the  Government  House. — Grand 
Ball  at  the  Residence  of  the  Chief  Justice. — The  Speech. 

On  the  day  of  our  arrival  I  called  on  tlie  Minister  of  Foreign 
Affairs,  and  presented  my  letters  of  credence  from  the  Secretary 
of  State,  Mr.  Everett.  In  this  interview,  "  El  Secretario"  betrayed 
more  curiosity  than  intelligence  as  to  the  objects  of  our  expedi- 
tion. My  visit  ended  with  an  appointment  to  call  on  the  Presi- 
dent the  same  day  at  4  o'clock. 

I  was  punctual  to  the  hour,  and  found  the  corridor  that  sur- 
rounds the  government  house  filled  with  soldiers,  who  gave  the 
usual  military  salute  as  we  passed.  On  entering  the  vestibule, 
where  was  stationed  a  small  guard,  an  officer  received  my  card, 
and  taking  it  in  to  the  President,  I  was,  without  a  moment's  de- 
tention, admitted  to  his  presence.  A  door,  on  each  side,  of  which 
was  stationed  a  soldier,  gave  access  from  the  vestibule  to  a  long, 
plainly-carpeted  room,  against  the  walls  of  which  stood  a  row 
of  cane-seat  chairs,  arranged  with  military  precision.  At  the 
upper  end  was  a  circular  table,  where  sat,  with  one  arm  resting 
upon  it,  "  His  Excellency  Senor  Don  Carlos  Antonio  Lopez," 
President  of  the  Republic  of  Paraguay.  The  engraving  on  the 
opposite  page  will  give  the  reader  a  more  vivid  impression  of  His 
Excellency's  personal  appearance  than  any  description  I  could 
possibly  offer. 

A  chair  was  placed  (I  presume  purposely)  at  the  table  before 
him,  and,  slightly  raising  his  hat,  without  rising,  as  I  approached, 
he  requested  me  to  be  seated,  and  to  place  my  hat  on  the  table, 
which  I  afterward  discovered  was  an  act  of  condescension  not  to 
be  too  lightly  esteemed.  I  showed  him  my  commission  from  the 
President  of  the  United  States,  of  which  he  requested  a  copy,  and 
explained  to  him  the  objects  of  the  expedition  under  my  com- 
mand. This  reception  was  very  unlike  the  unpretending  but 
courteous  style  of  the  Provisional  Director  of  the  Argentine  Con- 
federation.    I  afterward  learned,  however,  that  it  was  the  usual 


LOPEZ. 


117 


etiquette  observed  by  tlie  President  of  Paraguay  on  all  official  oc- 
casions to  remain  seated  with  his  hat  on.  The  higher  the  rank 
of  the  visitor,  the  more  particular  is  he  in  this  observance.  Sub- 
sequently I  had  frequent  interviews  with  him,  and  occasionally  I 
have  known  him  to  relax  somewhat,  and  even  to  take  his  hat  off; 
a  mark,  I  was  assured,  of  extraordinary  personal  favor  toward 
myself.  He  is  about  fifty-four,  and  has  never  been  out  of  the 
confines  of  Paraguay,  where,  though  ruling  under  the  title  of 
President,  his  authority  is  despotic  and  unquestioned.  He  is 
highly  intelligent,  well  read,  and  familiar  with  the  polity  .of  for- 
eign governments;  he  is  also  an  accomplished,  but,  as  I  after- 
ward discovered,  unscrupulous  diplomatist. 


CAELO   ANTONIO   LOPEZ,  PRESIDENT  OP  PAEAGUAT. 


Owing  to  the  isolated  position  of  his  country,  and  her  freedom, 
so  far,  from  friction  with  governments  foreign  to  La  Plata,  or  from 
checks  at  home,  he  is  rather  defiant  of  the  laws  of  nations.  I 
found  him,  in  conversation,  far  more  agreeable  and  affable  than  I 


;|^]^8  NEGOTIATIONS. 

had  been  led  to  suppose.  He  talks  mucli,  and  well.  After  an 
interview  of  more  than  an  hour,  protracted  by  himself,  he  rose, 
and  I  took  leave,  impressed  with  his  favorable  disposition  toward 
the  expedition. 

After  the  lapse  of  a  few  days  I  called  again,  and  presented  the 
President  with  the  plan  of  a  steamer  we  wished  to  construct  at 
Asuncion  for  the  survey  of  the  smaller  tributaries  of  the  river. 
I  also  gave  him  an  estimate  of  the  timber  required  for  this  purpose 
^for  this  is  one  of  the  national  monopohes — and  President  Lo- 
pez being  the  government,  all  business  to  which  it  can  be  a  party 
must  be  transacted  with  him.     He  examined  the  plan,  read  with 
care  our  hst  of  requisites,  and  promptly  said  that  instructions 
should  be  immediately  given  to  supply  us  with  the  articles  enu- 
merated, and  any  others  that  might  be  necessary  for  our  purpose. 
We  at  once  made  preparations  for  building  our  little  craft. 
The  whole  was  intrusted  to  Lieutenant  Ammen,  who  had  drawn 
the  plan,  and  now,  with  the  assistance  of  one  of  the  engineers, 
Mr.  Lambden,  began  the  work  with  energy.     In  the  mean  time 
I  occupied  myself  with  arrangements  for  continuing  the  explora- 
tion of  the  Paraguay.     To  obtain  the  necessary  permission  for 
this  required  some  diplomacy,  for  in  the  treaty  of  commerce  and 
navigation  concluded  before  my  arrival  it  had  been  stipulated 
that  the  navigation  of  the  river  should  be  limited  to  Asuncion. 

There  were  unsettled  questions  as  to  territorial  limits  on  the 
northern  borders  between  Brazd  and  Paraguay,  and  the  prohibit- 
ory decrees  of  President  Lopez,  in  reference  to  the  navigation  of 
the  river  above  the  capital,  were  made  with  the  view  of  forcing 
Brazil  to  terms.  In  excluding  other  nations,  without  any  posi- 
tive demonstration  of  hostility  toward  his  Imperial  Majesty,  he 
deprived  him  of  access  through  the  Paraguay  to  the  richest 
mineral  districts  of  the  empire.  He  said  that,  should  he  permit 
the  Water  Witch  to  ascend  the  river,  Brazil  would  make  the 
same  demand,  and  he  was  resolved  not  to  grant  her  that  privilege 
in  the  present  state  of  their  political  relations.  I  argued  the  char- 
acter of  our  expedition ;  its  manifest  objects,  which  should  not  be 
considered  in  connection  with  others  of  a  speculative  or  solely 
trading  character.  I  suggested  the  possible  value  of  its  results  to 
science,  which  I  knew  his  intelligence  enabled  him  fully  to  under- 
stand ;  'that,  in  giving  to  the  world  a  knowledge  of  waters  "so  little 
known,"  our  explorations  would  confer  a  positive  and  immediate 
benefit'upon  his  own  and  neighboring  countries,  while  the  people 


NEGOTIATIONS.  119 

of  the  United  States,  and  others  at  a  greater  distance,  could  be 
only  remotely  or  incidentally  interested. 

The  point  was  conceded,  and  I  was,  of  course,  disposed  to  put 
upon  it  the  most  latitudinous  construction ;  that  is,  to  ascend  as  far 
as  I  could  in  an  ocean  steamer.  I  understood  uniformly,  in  my 
conversations  with  President  Lopez,  and  from  an  ofiicial  paper 
sent  me  relating  to  this  subject,  that  I  could  carry  our  surveys 
throughout  the  Hmits  of  Paraguay  north,  or,  indeed,  beyond  them, 
for  permission  was  given  me  to  ascend  to  Bahia  Negra,  in  latitude 
20°  10'  14". 

Bahia  Negra  is  conceded  to  Bolivia  by  both  Brazil  and  Para- 
guay. From  that  point  the  President  could  neither  direct  nor 
check  our  operations,  for  I  had  already  received  permission  from 
BoHvia  to  enter  her  waters,  and  from  Brazil  to  ascend  to  Albu- 
querque, which  was  some  distance  within  the  acknowledged  limits 
of  the  empire.  I  in  fact  ascended  to  Corumba,  and  should  have 
gone  farther  but  for  the  hmitation  designated  by  Brazil,  and  yet 
have  felt  that  I  had  not  placed  too  wide  a  construction  upon  the 
concession  of  the  President  of  Paraguay. 

Before  beginning  the  ascension  of  the  river,  I  was  obliged  to 
contract  for  the  dehvery,  at  different  points,  of  steamer  fuel.  This 
was  again  an  ofl&cial  affair,  and  led  to  several  visits  to  the  govern- 
ment house.  The  agreements  were  all  satisfactorily  carried  out ; 
but  the  cutting  of  woods  for  such  a  purpose  being  a  new  branch 
of  industrial  enterprise  in  those  remote  parts  of  Paraguay,  I  paid 
high,  considering  its  extensive  forests — that  is,  from  four  to  five 
dollars  per  cord.  The  quality,  however,  was  excellent,  one  cord 
proving  fully  equal  to  a  ton  of  coal. 

When  we  arrived  at  Asuncion,  I  was  aware  that  the  business 
to  which  I  have  alluded  would  detain  me  some  time;  I  antici- 
pated, indeed,  unnecessary  delay,  and  knew,  from  experience,  that 
it  was  useless  to  complain.  One  must  enter  upon  every  work  in 
Spanish  America  with  rather  a  patient,  philosophical  spirit ;  but  I 
soon  discovered  that,  even  with  the  Paraguayan,  the  almighty  dol- 
lar had  its  influence,  and  believe  that  I  eventually  expedited  the 
operation  of  my  wood-cutters  by  adding  a  few  additional  pennies 
to  the  price  per  cord. 

Pending  these  preparations,  and  to  avoid,  in  some  degree,  the 

excessive  annoyance  from  musquitoes,  I  moved  to  an  apartment  in 

the  "  Calle  del  Sol."     The  rooms  were  nicely  whitewashed,  and, 

.  to  rid  them  of  the  army  of  fleas,  common  enough  to  every  house, 


120  MFE  IN  ASUNCION. 

my  servant  waged  a  successful  war  against  them  by  flooding  the 
tile-floors  daily  with  water.  The  furniture  was  simple.  There 
was  a  cot,  with  a  snowy  musquito-net,  which  had  done  good  serv- 
ice during  a  long  cruise  in  the  China  seas ;  two  cedar  tables,  two 
feet  by  four,  served,  one  for  dining,  the  other  for  books  and  writ- 
ing materials ;  some  crockery  from  the  Water  Witch,  arranged  by 
my  boy  in  a  cupboard,  made  a  brilliant  display,  but  a  dozen  rich- 
ly-carved, high-backed  chairs,  which  dated  from  the  time  of  the 
Jesuits,  were  the  pride  of  the  establishment,  for  in  art  those  mis- 
sionaries were  the  Medici  of  La  Plata.  My  "  boy"  was  chamber- 
maid, butler,  and  cook.  Roast  beef,  chickens,  mandioca — a  vege- 
table that  would  in  any  country  be  pronounced  delicious — oranges 
at  all  times,  grapes  and  figs  in  their  season,  were  the  luxuries  of 
the  table.  Fine  fish  might  have  been  added  but  for  the  indiffer- 
ence, indeed  dislike  of  the  Paraguayans,  like  all  Spanish  Ameri- 
cans, for  that  food ;  for  in  towns  rarely  visited  by  strangers  it  is 
not  often  seen  in  their  markets.  Perhaps  these  may  be  considered 
triviahties ;  I  allude  to  them  in  illustration,  for  my  style  of  living 
was  not  surpassed,  if  equaled,  by  that  of  the  best  houses  of  Asun- 
cion. There  is  no  lack  of  neatness  in  their  domestic  arrange- 
ments, but  no  people  are  more  simple  in  their  habits ;  indeed,  one 
needs  so  little  in  that  delicious  climate,  the  costly  and  elaborate 
furniture,  considered  now  a  necessity  in  our  country,  would  be  here 
an  annoying  superfluity.  Imperial  carpets  and  brocaftelle  hang- 
ings would  be  as  much  out  of  place  in  Paraguay  as  a  costume  of  the 
dog-days  upon  a  Broadway  pedestrian  in  the  middle  of  January. 
Asuncion  was  first  settled  in  1536.  It  contains  now  about  twelve 
thousand  inhabitants,  and  is,  according  to  our  determinations,  in 
latitude  25°  16'  30"  south,  longitude  57°  42'  42".  It  is  prettily 
placed,  the  land  rising,  at  the  point  where  the  city  stands,  some 
fifty  feet  above  the  river.  With  a  few  improvements,  its  position 
for  commercial  purposes  would  be  eligible,  but  individual  enter- 
prise has  little  scope,  for  the  playa  or  landing  is  government  prop- 
erty. During  our  stay  in  the  country  a  quay  of  stone  was  built, 
and,  though  undoubtedly  an  important  work,  it  would  by  no 
means  sufficiently  facilitate  the  dispatch  of  business  should  Asun- 
cion ever  have  an  extensive  foreign  trade.  The  people  are  wedded 
to  old  habits,  and  will  forever  discharge  and  load  vessels  by  canoes, 
should  not  some  enterprising  foreigner  suggest  a  change.  Owing 
to  the  extraordinary  edicts  of  Francia,  the  streets  are  regular,  and 
the  frontage  of  the  houses  even ;  for  any  luckless  proprietor  whose 


ASUNCION. 


123 


building  impaired  this  -uniformity  during  liis  administration  had 
the  satisfaction  of  having  it,  without  previous  intimation,  under- 
mined, halved,  or  quartered,  as  the  exigencies  of  the  case  might 
require.  A  piece  was  nicely  sliced  off,  leaving  saloons  and  bed- 
rooms minus  half  their  previous  dimensions.  Some  of  these  un- 
fortunate tenements  are  still  standing,  looking  like  a  "big  loaf" 
after  dinner. 

The  dwellings  are  uniformly  of  one  story,  some  of  them  be- 
ing large  and  well-constructed,  containing  six,  eight,  or  ten  airy 
rooms  opening  upon  a  court.  The  bricks  of  which  they  are  built 
are  peculiar  in  form  and  size,  being  from  twelve  to  fourteen  inches 
in  length,  eight  in  breadth,  and  about  two  in  thickness.  The  bet- 
ter houses  are  tiled,  the  roofs  projecting  some  three  or  four  feet 
beyond  the  eaves,  but,  in  the  erection  of  others  more  ordinary, 
the  roof  is  the  first  part  completed ;  posts  are  driven  into  the 
ground,  on  these  are  placed  sleepers  to  support  the  joists  and 
rafters,  strips  of  the  cana  or  bamboo  are  placed  transversely 
across,  sufficiently  close  together  to  retain  the  mud  *or  mortar, 
which  serves  to  cement  the  joinings  or  unite  the  tile.  In  such 
houses  the  trunks  of  palm,  prepared  as  I  have  described,  are  more 
frequently  used  than  tiles. 

The  principal  public  buildings  are  the  "Cabildo,"  the  Cathedral, 


THE  OAlilLUO,   ASUNCION. 


124 


FRANCIA. 


THE  CATHEDRAL,  ASUNCION. 


and  two  or  tliree  other  churches,  the  latter  dating  from  the  time 
of  the  Jesuits.  In  the  Cabildo  the  national  Legislature  meets.  The 
churches  are  kept  in  good  condition,  but  one  was  evidently  less  re- 
sorted to  than  others.  The  good  people  rarely  allude  to  this,  for 
a  fearful  mystery  overhangs  its  sacred  precincts ;  it  contained  at 
one  time  all  that  was  mortal  of  the  Dictator  Francia.  There  he  was 
undoubtedly  interred,-  and  a  monument  erected  over  his  remains. 
One  fair  morning  the  church  was  opened,  as  usual,  for  prayer ;  this 
monument  was  scattered  in  fragments  upon  the  floor,  and  the  bones 
of  the  tyrant  had  disappeared  forever — nobody  cared  how,  nobody 
asked  where.  It  was  only  whispered  that  the  devil  had  claimed 
his  own,  body  and  soul. 

No  modern  era  has  produced  a  parallel  to  his  iniquitous  rule. 
For  a  quarter  of  a  century,  unchecked  by  the  fear,  reproaches,  or 
notice  of  other  governments,  Francia  tyrannized  over  this  lovely 
country,  and  perpetrated  a  series  of  crimes,  the  recital  of  which  fills 
us  with  horror.  At  his  death,  spite  of  the  numberless  executions 
which  disgraced  his  administration,  and  which  must  have  been  his 
pastime,  the  prisons  of  Asuncion  were  gorged  with  more  than  sev- 
en hundred  poor  creatures,  some  of  whom  had  been  there  twenty 


SYSTEM  OF  FRANCIA.  125 

years.  They  were  broken  down  physically ;  some  were  reduced 
to  hopeless  idiocy,  and  all  were  given  back  to  the  world  to  find 
that  homes  and  families  had  been  swept  away  during  that  fearful 
deluge  of  tyranny. 

It  will  be  seen  in  another  chapter  that  it  was  the  policy  of  Spain, 
in  her  colonial  government,  to  keep  her  transatlantic  subjects  from 
all  communication  with  the  outer  world,  while,  at  the  same  time 
— for  this  was  the  object  of  that  system — the  extent  and  resources 
of  her  possessions  upon  the  American  continent  were  carefully 
veiled  from  the  knowledge  of  European  nations.  Paraguay,  be- 
tween the  parallels  of  21°  and  27°  south,  distant  by  the  course  of 
the  river  about  one  thousand  miles  from  the  Atlantic,  and  shut  out 
from  the  Pacific  by  the  Andean  barrier,  remained  a  terra  incognita 
to  all  but  Spanish  officials.  Aided  by  her  geographical  position, 
she  was  the  first  of  the  colonies  to  assert  her  independence ;  but 
soon  passing  under  the  sway  of  Francia,  who  inflexibly  maintain- 
ed non-intercourse  with  other  nations,  she  has  continued  a  region 
of  the  unknown. 

"While  the  other  republics  of  La  Plata  were,  after  their  emanci- 
pation from  Spanish  rule,  distracted  by  anarchy,  Paraguay  was 
comparatively  tranquil ;  it  was  not  the  quiet  of  progress  and  good 
government,  but  that  of  a  political  and  social  paralyzation,  pro- 
duced by  the  system  of  Francia — a  system  that  debased  the  na- 
tional mind,  leaving  it  submissive  to  any  rule,  without  moral  or 
physical  courage  to  resist  oppression. 

He  established,  in  time,  such  a  compound  system  of  espionage — 
spy  placed  over  spy — and  coerced  the  simple  Paraguayans  during 
his  twenty-six  years'  rule  into  such  timorous  silence,  that  death 
seems  scarcely  to  have  released  them  from  his  thraldom.  The 
people  of  the  lower  countries  of  La  Plata  will  tell  you  that  a  Par- 
aguayan never  mentions  the  name  of  the  Dictator  without  looking 
behind  him.  His  adherents  and  the  instruments  of  his  iniquity 
were  the  soldiers ;  his  victims,  landed  proprietors ;  but,  above  all, 
those  of  Spanish  origin,  from  confiscations  of  whose  property  his 
principal  revenue  was  derived. 

When  at  Asuncion  I  saw  much  of  Seiior ,  whose  family 

had  suffered  greatly  during  that  reign  of  terror,  and  in  his  con- 
versations with  me  he  frequently  alluded  to  their  wrongs.  He 
was  an  amiable,  gentlemanly,  and  intelligent  person ;  but  he  al- 
ways mentioned  the  name  of  Francia  with  reserve,  in  a  half  whis- 
per, glancing  stealthily  around  the  room,  as  if  fearful  that  the  grave 


126  THE  DAHLGKEEN  GUN. 

would  give  up  its  dead.  I  afterward  discovered  tliat  tlie  manner 
was  not  peculiar  to  him,  but  to  all  Paraguayans  in  alluding  to  the 
Dictator.  His  name  is  rarely  pronounced.  In  life  he  was  El  Su- 
premo ;  since  his  death,  they  allude  to  him  and  to  his  deeds  as 
those  oi  El  Defunto. 

The  United  States  government  sent  out  by  the  Water  Witch 
one  of  my  friend  Dahlgreen's  "  twelve-pound  howitzers,"  to  be  pre- 
sented to  the  President  of  Paraguay.  A  day  was  appointed  for 
its  delivery,  and  the  second  son  of  the  President,  Don  Benancia,  a 
major  in  the  army,  was  deputed  to  receive  it.  Many  of&cials  and 
quite  a  concourse  of  people  assembled  at  the  point  chosen  for  its 
reception.  Mounted  on  its  field-carriage,  and  manned  with  a  good 
crew  from  the  Water  Witch,  it  was  loaded  with  its  "fixed  ammuni- 
tion" in  double-quick  time,  pointed  across  the  river  to  the  Chaco, 
and  fired  in  rapid  succession,  keeping  two  shrapnells  at  the  same 
time  rolling  on  the  water,  while  the  contents  and  fragments  of  those 
that  preceded  them  and  exploded  had  demonstrated  the  deadly  ef- 
fect of  this  modern  missile  of  war.  The  assembled  crowd  looked 
on  in  wonder.  The  firing  over,  the  men  dashed  oflP  with  the  gun 
at  fall  speed,  thus  exhibiting  its  facility  of  locomotion  as  well  as 
rapidity  of  discharge.  Major  Lopez  expressed  himself  delighted, 
and  declared  that,  with  a  battery  of  half  a  dozen  such  pieces,  he 
could  defend  the  approach  to  Asuncion  against  vast  odds. 

I  quote  from  my  journal : 

"  October  11th.  Arrived  from  Buenos  Ayres  a  steamer  called  the 
'  Fanny,'  sailing  under  Monte videan  colors,  having  on  board  Mr. 
E.  A.  Hopkins,  United  States  Consul  for  Asuncion.  He  is  also 
agent  for  '  the  American  Company,'  several  members  of  which  are 
on  board,  having  come  to  Paraguay  with  the  view  of  establishing 
themselves  for  commercial  purposes,  and,  judging  from  the  re- 
sources of -this  country,  they  should  meet  with  great  success."  On 
the  day  appointed  for  Mr.  Hopkins  to  present  his  credentials  to  the 
President  he  was  accompaniedby  myself  and  many  of  the  ofl&cers 
of  the  Water  Witch. 

All  was  ready  to  proceed  up  the  river,  but  I  was  requested  to 
remain  a  few  days  and  witness  the  great  fete  of  Asuncion,  the  an- 
niversary of  his  Excellency's  birth-day,  the  4th  of  November,  on 
which  occasion  there  is  a  public  reception.  But  one  class  of  func- 
tionaries or  visitors  is  received  at  a  time ;  the  clergy  had  preced- 
ed us.  As  they  retired  we  entered,  and  found  "  President  Lopez," 
as  usual,  at  the  end  of  the  long  room  I  have  described,  seated  be- 


THE  PRESIDENT'S  FETE.  127 

fore  tlie  circular  table,  dressed  in  a  uniform  of  buff  and  gold ; 
wearing  in  place  of  the  usual  round  beaver  a  cocked  hat  with  gold 
lace  and  ostrich  feathers.  After  offering  him  our  congratulations, 
we  retired  to  make  room  for  others,  and  were  conducted  into  an 
adjoining  apartment  to  partake  of  refreshments,  provided  in  great 
profusion,  and  consisting  of  excellent  confectionery,  cakes,  Cham- 
pagne, English  ale,  coffee.  We  were  treated  with  much  kind  at- 
tention by  the  different  officials,  and  the  occasion  seemed  to  be  one 
of  enjoyment  to  all  classes. 

The  day  concluded  with  a  ball  given  by  the  Chief  Justice,  at 
which  were  present  not  only  all  the  beauty  and  fashion  of  Asun- 
cion, but  the  President  and  his  family.  Seats  were  especially  pre- 
pared for  them  at  one  end  of  the  room ;  that  for  his  Excellency  was 
on  a  carpeted  platform  elevated  about  one  foot  above  the  floor. 
Opposite  were  rows  of  chairs  for  the  matrons,  who  seemed  to  have 
attended  for  the  sole  purpose,  and  to  find  full  occupation  in  watch- 
ing their  fair  daughters ;  for  the  Spanish  American  girls,  like  those 
of  the  European  continent,  are  never  seen,  even  by  their  lovers, 
out  of  the  presence  of  mamma,  or  some  matron  to  whom  their  care 
is  delegated.  Madam  Lopez  and  her  daughters  were  pleasing  and 
ladylike;  the  latter,  like  all  women  of  the  country,  extravagantly 
fond  of  dancing,  but  the  ill  health  of  the  younger  on  this  occasion 
deprived  her  of  this  enjoyment.  At  an  early  hour  of  the  evening 
the  music  suddenly  ceased,  and  there  was  perfect  silence.  A  tall 
personage — we  were  told  that  he  was  an  LL.D. — moved  to  the 
centre  of  the  room,  made  a  profound  bow,  and  then,  with  vigorous 
gesticulation  and  imposing  solemnity  of  mien,  delivered  an  address 
highly  flattering  to  the  chief  magistrate  of  Paraguay,  who  received 
it  with  calm,  unmoved  countenance,  and  at  its  conclusion  retired. 
The  company,  all  standing,  listened  to  this  rather  flowery  effusion 
with  gravity  and  respect ;  but  as  the  door  closed  upon  his  Excel- 
lency, dancing  recommenced,  and  was  kept  up  until  the  dawn  of 
day. 


128  DEPARTURE  FROM  ASUNCION. 


CHAPTER  YIII. 

Departure  from  Asuncion. — The  President's  Quinta. — Salinas. — A  Hill. — Tlie  Con- 
fuso. — The  Salado. — Estancia  of  Lopez. — Variety  of  Woods  and  Fruits. — Que- 
bracho.—  Capiepomo. —  Guazu.  —  Cattle.  —  Hospitality.  — River  Scenery.  —  An 
Accident  to  Engine. — Piquete  Ytati. — Wood  for  Steamers. — Plants  and  Shrubs. 
— River  Jejui. — San  Pedro. — Another  Accident  to  Engine. — Guaycuru  Rembiu. 
— Government  Estancia. — The  Pacu  Fish. — River  Changes. — The  Ypane. — Ar- 
rival at  Concepcion. 

I  QUOTE  from  my  journal : 

"  November  Ith^  1853.  We  left  Asuncion  this  morning  at  half 
past  five  o'clock,  upward  bound.  The  reply  of  the  President  of 
Paraguay  to  my  letter  requesting  permission  for  the  expedition  to 
pass  through  the  territory  claimed  by  his  government  is  all  I  could 
desire ;  he  attaches  no  limits  to  the  extent  of  our  explorations  on 
the  river.  Have  in  view  the  President's  quinta ;  it  extends  for 
six  miles  along  the  river ;  all  is  verdant  and  enameled  with  culti- 
vation. At  the  highest  point  of  the  rolling  land,  which  rises  in 
wave-like  ridges  from  the  river,  is  placed  the  dwelling,  command- 
ing an  extensive  view,  including  the  salinas,  which  at  times  present 
a  busy  scene ;  for  here,  in  small  huts,  the  salt-gatherers  establish 
themselves  during  the  season  of  low  water,  and,  by  a  rude  and  prim- 
itive process,  manufacture  an  extensive  supply  for  the  Asuncion 
market :  it  is  inferior  to  the  imported  article,  but  for  cattle  or  ordi- 
nary purposes  serves  very  well.  Extensive  saline  districts  exist  in 
the  Chaco ;  the  rivers  that  flow  through  that  country  are,  with  few 
exceptions,  brackish,  but  this  is  the  Second  instance  in  which  we 
have  met  with  this  formation  east  of  the  Paraguay ;  the  first  was 
below  the  capital,  near  Mount  Lambare.  The  earth,  when  first  turn- 
ed up,  exhibits  no  evidence  of  the  presence  of  salt,  but  after  being 
for  some  time  exposed  to  the  sun,  it  becomes  covered  with  a  crust, 
looking  like  a  white  frost.  The  people  collect  this  efflorescence 
carefully,  but  it  is  from  the  water,  through  which  the  earth  is  re- 
peatedly washed  to  extract  all  saliferous  particles,  that  the  princi- 
pal supply  is  obtained.  In  a  country  rich  in  pasture-lands,  and  so 
far  from  the  ocean,  this  provision  of  Providence  is  only  one  among 
the  multiplied  evidences  of  bounty  to  these  fair  regions  of  creation." 

On  the  President's  lands  is  the  port  Lasararaxas — the  family 
name  of  Madame  Lopez — and  in  operation  near  it  are  several  ex- 


THE  CONFUSO.— PINON.  129 

tensive  brick-kilns.  Twelve  miles  above  Asuncion  there  is,  on  the 
Chaco  bank,  an  isolated  conical  hill  of  mica  schist  rising  to  the 
heisfht  of  one  hundred  feet,  the  first  elevation  on  that  side  exceed- 
ing  twenty  feet  since  leaving  "  Santa  Fe,  seven  hundred  and  twenty 
miles  below.  It  furnishes  a  quarry  of  building-stone  from  which 
great  blocks  are  rolled  down  by  a  gradual  descent  to  the  water's 
edge. 

Immediately  above  this  quarry,  the  Eiver  Confuso,  a  narrow, 
tortuous  stream,  taking  its  rise  no  one  knows  where,  discharges 
itself  into  the  Paraguay.  At  a  subsequent  period  Lieutenant  Mur- 
daugh  ascended  it  for  twenty -four  miles,  encountered  some  diflEicul- 
ties  in  the  navigation,  and  made  slow  progress,  though  in  a  steam- 
er of  but  two  feet  draught.  From  his  account  of  it  we  must  con- 
clude that  it  has  its  source  in  the  eastern  Cordilleras  of  Bolivia.  It 
has  been  supposed  to  be  a  branch  of  the  Pilcomayo,  and  is  marked 
on  some  maps  as  such,  but  the  difference  in  the  character  of  their 
waters  must  set  at  rest  this  idea.  That  of  the  Pilcomayo  is  brack- 
ish only  when  the  river  is  unusually  low  and  sluggish,  while  that 
of  the  Confuso  is  decidedly  bitter  and  saline.  The  Confuso,  like 
many  other  rivers  of  the  Chaco,  is  probably  pure  at  its  source,  and 
becomes  impregnated  from  flowing  through  saliferous  districts. 
Considered  as  a  branch  of  the  Pilcomayo,  the  distance  through 
which  it  would  course  before  reaching  the  Paraguay  is  not  suffi- 
cient to  produce  so  great  a  change  in  its  waters.  If  a  distinct  river, 
rising,  as  I  believe,  in  the  high  lands  of  Bolivia,  it  is  but  a  new  link 
and  another  evidence  of  the  beautiful  river  system  which  charac- 
terizes the  basin  of  La  Plata. 

Four  miles  above  the  quarry,  on  the  Chaco  side,  a  conical  rock, 
called  the  "  Pinon,"  rises  about  twenty  feet  above  the  water,  in  the 
middle  of  the  river.  It  is  surmoimted  by  a  block  of  red  sandstone 
of  about  six  feet  diameter  at  the  top,  so  symmetrical  and  so  nicely 
adjusted  that  one  might  suppose  it  to  have  been  designedly  placed 
there  by  some  skillfiil  hand.  Directly  opposite,  a  small  stream, 
the  Salado,  which  flows  from  the  Lake  Ypacaray,  discharges  its 
waters  into  the  Paraguay.  The  country  around  the  lake  and  bor- 
dering this  little  river  is  populous  and  fertile ;  during  a  season  of 
extreme  drought  the  Salado  is  slightly  brackish,  as  its  name  indi- 
cates. 

At  Quatros  Bocas — "  Four  mouths,"  four  miles  above  the  rock 
Pinon,  the  character  of  the  banks  on  either  side  is  the  same,  but 
some  distance  inland  the  scenery  changes.     There  is  in  view  a 

9 


130  WOODS  OF  PAKAGUAY. 

sierra,  or  beautiful  range  of  high  land,  which  is  known  to  extend 
easterly  from  the  Paraguay  nearly  to  the  Parana. 

Near  the  Guardia  Arigutigua,  twenty  miles  from  Asuncion,  the 
"Pirebeby"  flows  into  the  Paraguay,  andforms  the  southern  bound- 
ary of  an  estate  belonging  to  President  Lopez,  which  has  its  north- 
ern limit  on  the  Eiver  Paraguaymi.  This  estancia  extends  four- 
teen unbroken  miles  on  the  Paraguay,  is  particularly  fertile,  and 
well  stocked  with  horned  cattle  and  sheep ;  mandioca  and  com 
are  cultivated  upon  it  to  a  hmited  extent,  as  provision  for  the  cap- 
itaz  and  peons — manager  and  laborers.  Two  miles  above  Pirebe- 
by,  and  about  the  same  distance  inland,  is  the  little  town  of  "  Am- 
buscada,"  at  the  foot  of  the  sierra. 

In  latitude  24°  54'  32"  south,  longitude  57°  21'  15,"  forty  mUes 
from  Asuncion,  we  reached  the  first  point  at  which  the  wood-cut- 
ters agreed  to  farnish  us  with  fael  for  the  steamer.  I  found  them 
punctual  to  the  time,  and  the  wood  was  all  corded,  and  conven- 
iently placed  for  being  received  on  board.  The  bunkers  were  half 
fiiU  of  coal,  but  we  were  able  to  take  in  thirty -nine  cords.  In  this 
lot  were  some  ten  or  a  dozen  varieties :  the  Palo  bianco,  Curupi- 
na,  Curupay,  Arahan,  Yrapipe,  Espiua  de  Corona,  Yrapita,  Nanga- 
pare,  and  many  others  of  fine  texture  are  found  throughout  this 
country,  such  as  the  Algorroba,  Espinilla,  and  Quebracho,  or  "axe- 
breaker,"  as  its  name  indicates.  All  of  these  trees  furnish  good 
fuel  for  steamers,  but  in  ship-building  or  for  ornamental  purposes 
they  would  be  invaluable. 

Some  of  them  are  giants  even  in  the  La  Plata  forests ;  others 
present  great  floral  beauty ;  some  are  valued  for  their  fruits,  oth- 
ers for  their  barks ;  indeed,  familiar  as  I  am  with  the  woodlands 
of  the  northern  section  of  this  hemisphere,  as  we  advanced  in  the 
ascent  of  the  river,  I  was  filled  with  wonder  at  the  surpassing  wealth 
of  the  forest  regions  of  the  south.  An  accomplished  arborist  would 
find  in  Paraguay  an  unlimited  field  of  interest  and  study.  The 
fruits  of  the  Arahan  and  Nangapare  are  both  pleasant  and  nutri- 
tious. The  Algorroba,  one  of  the  mimosae,  produces  a  fruit  simi- 
lar in  taste  (though  smaller)  to  our  honey -pod.  It  contains  a  quan- 
tity of  saccharine  matter,  and  is  carefully  gathered  by  the  Indians, 
who  dry,  pound,  and  preserve  it  in  skins ;  they  also  make  from  it 
a  fermented  liquor  of  which  they  are  very  fond,  but  to  me  it  was 
unpalatable.  This  tree  flourishes  in  the  Argentine  Confederation, 
where  its  fruit,  considered  very  precious  food  for  cattle,  is  gather- 
ed, and  generally  put  aside  for  favorite  horses.     These  animals 


THE  PRESIDENT'S  ESTANCIAS.  131 

when  fed  iipon  it,  if  not  severely  exercised,  become  too  fat  for  ac- 
tive service. 

The  width  of  the  river  at  this  point,  as  ascertained  by  the  mi- 
crometer, is  one  thousand  and  seventy-six  yards.  Its  general 
width  from  Asuncion  to  this  place  is  from  a  half  to  one  mile ; 
least  depth  twenty  feet,  greatest  seventy -two.  The  banks  have 
an  elevation  of  fifteen  feet  at  the  present  state  of  the  water,  which 
is  four  feet  below  the  highest  rise.  They  are  well  timbered ;  the 
woodland  extends  some  distance  back,  with  intervening  sections  of 
palm  and  grass.  Between  the  towns  few  houses  are  to  be  seen  ex- 
cept the  guardias,  near  which  are  always  extensive  estancias. 

Fourteen  miles  farther  (latitude  24°  48'  27'')  we  passed  another 
estancia  of  President  Lopez,  called  Capiepomo  Guazu.  The  dwell- 
ing is  in  the  usual  style  of  the  better  class  of  country  houses  in 
Paraguay,  of  one  story,  very  capacious,  and  built  round  a  court ; 
it  stands  about  half  a  mile  from  the  river,  in  the  midst  of  a  palm 
plain,  skirted  with  magnificent  and  lofty  trees.  The  corrals  upon 
these  estates  are  an  invariable  evidence  of  the  wealth  of  the  estan- 
ciaro,  and  here  they  were  large  and  numerous. 

We  anchored  as  the  sun  was  sinking  below  the  horizon  in  a  sea 
of  gorgeous  tinges;  and  as  night  approached,  with  little  or  no  inter- 
val of  twilight,  flocks  of  sheep,  by  thousands,  might  be  seen  gath- 
ering under  the  shelter  of  the  corrals.  The  number  of  horned  cat- 
tle on  some  of  these  estancias  is  enormous,  and,  with  a  free  com- 
munication to  the  Atlantic,  we  can  understand  how  great  a  revenue 
they  would  afford.  Found  at  our  anchorage  forty-eight  feet  of 
water,  the  width  of  the  river  being  half  a  mile,  the  least  depth 
twenty-four  feet ;  current  at  anchorage  two  and  a  half  miles  per 
hour.  Engaged  a  bullock  and  a  quantity  of  fresh  milk  for  an 
early  hour  the  next  morning.  The  cows  are  milked  but  once  a 
day — in  the  morning  always.  The  capitaz  would  receive  no  pay 
for  either,  and,  on  inquiring,  found  that  this  was  in  accordance  with 
the  orders  of  the  President.  This  is  only  one  of  what  I  consider  a 
series  of  national  civihties,  offered  with  a  delicacy  which  reflects 
high  honor  upon  his  excellency.  Indeed,  government  hospitality 
represents  a  characteristic  of  the  Paraguayans,  A  more  generous, 
single-hearted  people  it  is  impossible  to  find,  and  they  have  a  native 
tact  which  rarely  offends  even  the  conventional  ideas  of  those  who 
have  associated  more  with  the  outer  world. 

Much  as  I  was  obliged  afterward  to  disapprove  and  deprecate 
the  course  of  President  Lopez  toward  the  Americans  who  had  set- 


132  LOPEZ'S  HOSPITALITY. 

tied  in  Asuncion,  and  in  the  unprovoked  attack  upon  tlie  Water 
Witch  while  ascending  the  Parana,  the  reception  of  the  expedition 
in  his  waters,  and  his  entire  course  toward  us,  until  his  outbreak 
with  the  consul,  was  characterized  throughout  bj  generous  hos- 
pitality. 

At  an  early  hour  our  bullock  was  dragged  by  the  lasso  from 
the  corral  to  the  river  bank,  and  in  an  incredibly  short  time  served 
up  on  board  ship.  We  soon  passed  the  grass-lands  of  Capiepomo, 
where  the  banks  are  low,  and  covered  with  forests  of  lofty  trees ; 
parasites  and  epiphytes,  with  brilliant  an(^fragrant  bloom,  entwin(3 
themselves  around  the  huge  trunks,  here  presenting  a  floral  col- 
umn, there  running  over  branches,  and  from  tree  to  tree,  forming 
hanging  gardens.  To  complete  the  enchantment,  birds  of  gay 
plumage  flit  about,  enlivening  the  woods  with  their  merry  songs. 

We  passed  another  estancia  near  the  Guardia  Caraguatay.  The 
left  bank  again  rises  to  the  height  of  fifteen  feet,  and  is  well  wood- 
ed ;  beyond,  a  boundless  plain  of  palms  and  grass.  Saw  many 
fowl,  among  which  were  the  Pa  to  real — "EoyalDuck,"  andBigua 
bay — "  Snake-head."  The  starboard  crank-strap  broke,  and  we  an- 
chored to  repair  damages.  In  an  hour  we  were  under  way,  and 
passed  the  mouth  of  the  Eiver  Quarepoti,  seventy-two  miles  from 
Asuncion.  On  this  stream,  three  miles  from  the  Paraguay,  is  the 
town  of  Eosario,  but  hid  from  our  view  by  the  woods.  Passing  an 
estancia  of  General  Lopez,  son  of  the  President,  and  commander-in- 
chief  of  the  army,  we  anchored  off  the  Piquete  Ytati,  our  second 
depot  of  wood,  one  hundred  and  two  miles  from.  Asuncion, 

The  President's  orders  were  carried  out  as  to  the  quantity  and 
size  of  this  wood,  and  there  was  a  punctuality  in  its  supply  which, 
I  feel  assured,  without  his  instructions,  neither  love  nor  money 
could  have  procured.  I  found  here  fifty-two  cords  well  cut  and 
put  up ;  a  familiar  sight  to  us,  but  a  novel  one  to  Paraguayans. 
Our  experience  demonstrates  fully  not  only  the  possibility  of  ob- 
taining abundance  of  wood  in  these  waters  for  steamers,  but  the 
fact  of  its  superiority  to  all  used  similarly  in  our  own  country. 
In  ruiining  from  5  to  10  o'clock  A.M. — five  hours — and  from  1 
to  5f  P.M. — in  all,  nine  hours  forty -five  minutes — we  consumed 
five  and  a  quarter  cords  of  wood,  a  little  more  than  half  a  cord  per 
hour,  keeping  up  twenty  pounds  of  steam,  making  from  eighteen 
to  twenty  revolutions,  and  giving  a  speed  of  six  miles  over  the 
bottom,  against  a  current  of  from  two  to  two  and  a  half  miles  per 
hour.     An  accurate  account  of  the  consumption  and  careful  meas- 


FRUITS  AND  PLANTS.  133 

urement  of  the  wood  were  kept  and  made  by  the  senior  engineer, 
R.  C.  Potts,  with  the  view  of  testing  its  quahty.  The  result  proved 
what  I  have  before  affirmed,  that  a  cord  of  this  wood  was  fully 
equal  to  a  ton  of  the  best  anthracite  coal. 

The  width  of  the  river  at  our  anchorage  by  micrometer  was  six 
hundred  and  nineteen  yards ;  the  general  width  from  our  last  an- 
chorage from  a  third  to  a  quarter  of  a  mile ;  least  depth  of  water 
seventeen  feet. 

Employed  the  morning  while  wooding  in  a  stroll  through  the 
forest  skirting  the  river,  from  which  our  supply  of  fael  had  been 
cut,  in  search  of  botanic  specimens.  Gathered  a  few,  among  which 
was  the  Guayava  blanca,  a  shrub  bearing  a  beautiful  white  flower 
very  like  the  orange  blossom ;  its  fruit  is  delicious,  and  its  twigs 
were  covered  with  nodules  of  white  wax,  deposited  by  a  species  of 
ant  in  such  quantities  that  the  people  of  the  country  collect  it  and 
mould  it  into  candles.  We  saw  also  the  lofty  Yarumu,  or  Hiva- 
puru,  which  bears  a  violet-colored  fruit  about  the  size  of  a  plum, 
and  much  hked  by  the  natives ;  we  thought  it  indifferent.  It  is 
directly  attached  to  the  trunk  and  branches,  without  a  peduncle. 
Saw  numberless  epiphytes ;  they  are  found  in  every  part  of  La 
Plata,  and  generally  near  a  dead  tree,  around  which  they  entwine 
themselves,  making  what  would  be  otherwise  an  unsightly  skele- 
ton the  most  beautifol  object  of  the  forest.  This  is  a  favorite  plant 
in  all  city  gardens,  requiring  no  care,  as  it  finds  its  nutriment  in 
the  air.  Some  are  selected  for  their  brilliant  flowers,  others  for 
their  fragrance,  which  exceeds  in  delicacy  that  of  most  flora. 

Having  wooded,  pushed  on,  and  about  two  and  a  half  miles 
above  the  Piquete  Ytati,  passed  the  mouth  of  the  Jejui,  a  small 
river  which  flows  from  the  left  bank.  It  rises  in  the  Cordilleras  of 
Paraguay,  courses  through  apart  of  the  Yerbales,  and  offers  an  easy 
communication  for  the  conveyance  of  this  product  to  San  Pedro. 
After  the  construction  of  the  small  steamer,  it  was  used  by  Lieu- 
tenant Ammen  in  the  examination  of  this  stream,  but,  as  he  ascend- 
ed at  the  season  of  low  water,  he  found  it  impracticable  to  proceed 
farther  than  a  few  miles  beyond  the  port  of  San  Pedro,  latitude 
24°  5'  26'',  longitude  67°  13'  7'\  The  village  of  San  Pedro  is  two 
miles  north  of  the  port.  The  note-book  of  Lieutenant  Ammen  in 
reference  to  it  says : 

"  We  had  a  succession  of  sand-bars  up  to  this  port,  on  an  aver- 
age one  to  every  four  hundred  yards.  A  steamer  navigating  the 
river  even  to  San  Pedro  should  not  have  a  length  greater  than 


134  AN  ACCIDENT. 

eighty  feet,  should  be  fiat  floored,  and  be  capable  of  making 
eight  statute  miles,  the  average  current  being  equal  to  'three  and 
a  half.  Arrived  at  the  port  of  San  Pedro  April  16th,  1854 ;  visited 
the  commandante,  who  received  me  with  every  possible  kindness, 
and  supplied  me  with  horses  to  go  to  the  villa  of  San  Pedro,  two 
marine  miles  due  north.  We  were  met  by  Don  Louis  Cara,  the 
priest,  the  captain  of  the  port,  and  ten  or  twelve  others.  They 
expressed  a  desire  to  visit  the  vessel.  After  an  examination  into 
and  explanation  of  every  thing,  we  accompanied  these  personages 
to  the  villa,  and  stopped  at  the  house  of  Don  Louis  Cara.  The  day 
following,  the  vessel  was  overrun  with  visitors.  The  commandante 
gave  us  a  grand  ball  that  night,  at  which  all  the  ladies  wore  shoes. 
The  authorities  and  grandees  were  overwhelming  in  their  polite- 
ness. On  the  day  after  the  ball,  with  a  party  consisting  of  the 
officials  and  the  ladies  on  board,  we  proceeded  on,  taking  the  canoe 
in  tow  for  their  return.  They  went  up  with  us  a  mile,  and  left, 
highly  gratified  that  they  had  seen  a  steamer  fanction." 

My  own  journal  says, 

'■'■Novemher  10th.  Observed  on  the  bank  a  wooden  cross ;  was 
informed  by  the  pilot  that  it  was  the  grave  of  a  poor  woman  who 
had  died  there  suddenly.  Surely  we,  in  our  boasted  civilization, 
might  borrow  from  the  primitive  customs  of  this  country;  no 
grave,  however  humble  the  former  position  of  its  occupant,  is  here 
unmarked  by  this  symbol  of  Christianity.  For  the  second  time 
since  leaving  Asuncion  the  engine  is  'hors  de  combat'  by  the 
breaking  of  another  crank  strap.  While  this  damage  was  repair- 
ing we  went  on  shore,  and  making  our  way  up  the  bank  (which 
was  here  about  fifteen  feet  above  the  water),  and  through  an  al- 
most impenetrable  fringe  and  network  of  vegetation,  we  spent  the 
few  remaining  hours  of  daylight  in  searching  for  specimens.  Col- 
lected a  few  plants,  among  which  was  the  Guaycura  remhiu^  a  creep- 
er, bearing  a  pretty  white,  waxlike  flower ;  its  fruit  is  highly  es- 
teemed by  the  Indians,  who  collect  it  when  green,  and  roast  it. 
When  ripe  it  bursts  its  shell,  and  exposes  beautiftil  and  dehcate 
silklike  fibres,  to  each  of  which  is  a  seed. 

^^ Novemher  Wth.  Under  wa}?"  at  eight  o'clock  this  morning,  hav- 
ing made  a  strap  with  the  best  iron  on  board,  one  of  the  awning 
stanchions.  The  government  owns  extensive  estancias  and  im- 
mense herds,  which  furnish  the  army  with  beef.  For  some  hours 
this  morning  we  were  steaming  past  one  of  these  estancias,  well 
stocked  with  the  finest  cattle :  it  is  known  as  Estancia  Potreropora. 


RIVER  CHANGES.  135 

Found  liere  a  large  quantity  of  wood  conveniently  corded.  Wher- 
ever the  pampa  is  unbroken  by  a  mountain  spur,  or  the  banks  pre- 
sent a  sectional  view  of  their  formation,  they  show  a  stratum  of 
white  clay,  with  a  surface-soil  of  rich  black  earth  from  two  to  four 
feet  in  depth. 

"  Anchored  near  the  Piquete  Caruy  parti,  and  off  the  estancia  of 
Don  Francisco  Antonio  Garcia,  near  which  is  the  port  Piedrenal. 
The  following  morning  detained  by  a  rain,  which  here  not  only 
pours,  but  falls  in  sheets.  Measured  the  river  by  micrometer, 
and  found  it  to  be  one  thousand  one  hundred  and  seventy  yards 
wide.  Caught  some  fish,  the  pacu,  the  best  in  these  waters.  In 
six  hours  from  Puerto  Piedrenal  we  arrived  at  the  town  of  Con- 
cepcion.  In  the  depth  of  river  and  character  of  its  banks  up  to 
this  place  found  no  material  change  save  at  the  island  Toro,  about 
five  miles  from  Puerto  Piedrenal,  where  there  are  two  islands,  the 
one  near  the  Chaco  side  formed  since  1842.  The  channel  has  shift- 
ed more  to  the  east,  and  has  fifteen  feet  water,  the  least  depth  as 
yet  found  between  Asuncion  and  Concepcion. 

"Many  seals  have  been  seen  during  the  last  two  days.  There 
is  one  feature  in  the  character  of  these  rivers  worthy  of  note — the 
apparent  inclination  of  the  waters  to  encroach  upon  the  east  bank : 
a  question  suggests  itself.  Has  the  revolution  of  the  earth  any  agen- 
cy in  this  change  ?  The  newly-formed  islands  are  uniformly  on 
the  Chaco  side ;  so  far,  the  channel  inclines  undeviatingly  to  the 
east.  If  influenced  by  the  earth's  revolution,  the  effect  should  be 
as  it  here  appears.  Eising  in  the  equatorial  regions,  and  coursing 
south  through  a  vast  extent  of  pampa,  this  river,  in  conjunction 
with  the  Parana,  presents  the  fairest  opportunity  of  arriving  at  a 
solution  of  this  question.  Ten  miles  below  Concepcion  we  passed 
through  a  narrow  arm  of  the  river  on  the  east,  at  this  time  the 
main  channel ;  it  has  a  depth  of  twenty -two  feet,  and  a  width  of 
from  sixty  to  seventy  yards.  The  water  is  fast  deserting  the  old 
bed  of  the  river,  which,  though  half  a  mile  wide,  has  scarcely  depth 
enough  for  a  boat.  "We  passed  the  mouth  of  the  Ypane,  about  five 
miles  below  Concepcion ;  though  it  rises  in  the  distant  sierras  of 
Paraguay,  it  is  only  navigable  for  boats.  Directly  opposite  its 
mouth  is  the  Riacho  Lingua  Passo,  formed  by  an  island  of  the  same 
name.  This  riacho  was  in  1842  the  main  channel,  which  is  now 
east  of  it — another  evidence  of  the  movement  of  the  river  in  that 
direction. 

"As  we  approach  Concepcion  the  formation  of  the  bed  of  the 


136  CONCEPCION. 

river  changes,  and  the  channel  is  contracted  by  rocks  on  either  side. 
There  is,  however,  neither  danger  nor  difficulty  in  the  navigation, 
for  we  found  never  less  than  twenty  feet  water. 

"  Anchored  in  front  of  the  town,  and  by  measurement  ascer- 
tained the  river  to  be  at  its  narrowest  point  three  hundred  and 
forty-four  yards ;  velocity  of  current  two  and  a  half  miles  per 
hour ;  temperature  of  air  at  meridian  81°,  of  water  84:°.     Found* 
here  two  small  craft  taking  in  yerba  for  Asuncion." 


CHAPTER  IX. 

Concepcion. — Yerba. — Government  Monopolies  and  Restrictions  placed  upon  Trade. 
— Favorable  Reception. — Guembe  and  Guembetaya. — The  Water  Witch. — A  Ball 
at  the  Commandante's  House. — A  Quandary. — Danced  down. — Seiior  Tachiera. 
— Costumes. — Wood  for  Steamer. — Rio  Saladillo.  —  Salinas. —  Indians. —  The 
Caciques. — A  Shaking  of  Hands  and  a  Smoke. — Palm  Forest. — Salvador. — Heat. 
— State  of  the  Country. — The  Abatiguaniba. — Caragiiatay  Guazu. — Manufactures 
of  its  Thread. — Thorns  converted  into  Needles. — The  Datil. — Reptile  Hunting. 
— Supplies. — Value  of  Hide. — Piquete  Arracifc. — Heat. — Paso  Melo. — Mount- 
ed Indians  from  the  Chaco. — Piquete  Judiarte. — Guardia  Apatuya. — Beautiful 
Scenery. — The  Morada  and  Ytapucu  Guazu. — The  Children  of  the  Gran  Chaco. 
— Equestrian  and  Pedestrian. — Size,  Strength,  and  Longevity. — An  Octogenarian 
in  the  Flower  of  his  Age. — Nabidigua. — TheMbayas. — Their  Slaves. — The  Gua- 
rani. — Spiritual  Notions  of  the  Aborigines.  — No  Word  for  God  or  Divinity. — Ahar- 
aigichi. — Jupa. — Inferior  Creatures  or  not? 

Concepcion,  in  latitude  23°  23'  56'',  longitude  57°  30'  39",  con- 
tains about  two  thousand  inhabitants,  and  stands  on  a  plain,  which, 
at  the  ordinary  height  of  the  river,  is  twenty  feet  above  its  level. 
It  was  at  one  period  a  flourishing  town,  and  should  now  be  an  im- 
portant port  for  the  export  of  yerba  and  caoutchouc,  but  the  policy 
of  the  Paraguayan  government,  in  monopolizing  the  trade  in  all 
native  products  of  value,  tends  to  check  any  spirit  of  enterprise 
which  might  tempt  individuals  or  companies  to  build  up  a  com- 
merce in  these  articles.  All  trade  is  centralized  at  Asuncion. 
The  government  is  the  principal  merchant,  in  virtue  of  its  own 
decree,  and  the  prices  paid  by  this  factor  are  not  sufficiently  re- 
munerative to  induce  laborers  to  enter  the  field,  fruitful  as  it  is. 
There  are  Yerhales^  or  "Yerba  Districts,"  in  the  interior,  some  sixty 
or  seventy  miles  from  Concepcion,  to  which  place  their  product  is 
transported  in  ox-wagons. 

In  the  gathering  and  preparation  of  this  yerba  for  market,  there 
are  two  modes  of  procedure ;  either  to  instruct  the  commandante 


YERBA. 


187 


OUPaNG   YEBBA. 


of  the  district  to  enter  tlie  yerbales  with  the  force  at  his  command, 
or  to  grant  permission  to  certain  contractors  to  do  so.  In  the  first 
case,  the  laborers  are  paid  in  goods  from  the  public  stores  at  the 
rate  of  twenty-five  cents  the  arK)ba ;  in  the  latter,  the  agent  or 
contractor  delivers  at  Asuncion  two  thirds  of  the  whole  quantity, 
packed  in  hide  sacks,  containing  eight  arrobas  each,  called  tercias ; 
he  bearing  all  the  expenses  of  labor,  transportation,  and  cost  of 
the  hides  for  the  tercias.  This  yields  a  handsome  income  to  his 
Excellency.  The  export  amounts  annually  to  not  less  than  ninety 
thousand  arrobas,  and  he  sells  it  at  about  four  dollars  the  arroba ; 
he  therefore  receives  about  three  hundred  and  sixty  thousand  dol- 
lars from  this  one  article,  and  without  the  expenditure  of  a  dollar; 
to  which  should  be  added  a  revenue  from  hides,  timber,  horse- 
hair, etc.,  amounting  also  to  a  large  sum.* 

There  is  no  restriction  on  the  home  consumption,  but  the  mer- 
chant who  wishes  to  export  this  "tea"  must  purchase  from  the 
state.  The  rulers  of  this  fine  country  have  many  valuable  les- 
sons to  acquire  in  political  and  financial  science.     By  opening 

*  The  process  of  preparing  the  yerba  will  be  found  fully  detailed  in  Lieut.  Powell's 
"Journal  of  a  Tour  through  the  Yerbales  of  Paraguay."     See  Appendix  E. 


138  NATIONAL  CHAEACTERISTICS. 

their  waters  to  foreign  flags,  and  encouraging  home  industry, 
even  in  the  collection  of  indigenous  products,  and  without  the 
application  of  agriculture,  the  revenue  from  import  and  export 
duties  would  far  exceed  that  of  any  monopoly  now  usurped. 
Under  the  present  system,  there  is  a  stagnation  of  all  trade  at 
this  place,  and  the  people  are  poor,  and  evidently  inert,  but,  like 
all  Paraguayans,  hospitable.  We  can  only  hope  that  the  reac- 
tionary spirit  which  has  crept  into  the  Argentine  Confederation, 
and  the  enlightened  ambition  of  General  Urquiza  to  elevate  his 
country,  politically  and  socially,  by  a  liberal  constitution,  educa- 
tion of  its  youth,  and  direct  foreign  trade,  will  prove  contagious, 
and  work  their  course  toward  the  northern  republic  of  La  Plata. 

Soon  after  anchoring  I  called  at  the  commandante's,  where  I 
met  the  principal  personages  of  the  place,  who  were  emphatic  in 
their  offers  of  service,  seeming  to  consider  it  a  point  of  national 
honor  to  give  us  a  distinguished  reception.  Isolated  as  the  Para- 
guayans have  been,  they  are  animated,  I  observed,  by  a  strong 
nationality,  intense  love  of  country,  though  not  awakened  to  any 
application  of  its  surpassing  natural  wealth  to  the  requirements 
of  trade.  To  express  appreciation  of  Paraguay,  we  discovered, 
was  a  sure  avenue  to  the  hearts  of  these  people ;  and  this  tribute 
we  could  offer  them  in  all  truth  and  sincerity.  Horses  were  ten- 
dered us,  with  the  assurance  that  they  would  continue  at  our  dis- 
posal while  we  remained  at  Concepcion ;  and,  as  sailors  rarely  de- 
cline such  an  opportunity  of  exercise,  we  availed  ourselves  of  the 
tempting  favor,  and  visited  the  adjacent  country,  which  is  flat, 
sandy,  and  uninteresting. 

We  passed  an  indifferent  house  here  and  there,  surrounded 
with  little  and  poor  cultivation,  but  collected  a  few  plants,  among 
which  was  the  parasite  guembepi  or  guembe.  I  pulled  one  from 
the  limb  of  a  quebracho,  thirty  feet  from  the  ground,  to  which 
its  tendrils  had  descended,  and  taken  root  in  the  earth.  This  is 
one  of  the  most  useful  plants  in  Paraguay,  for  from  its  fibre  is 
manufactured  an  admirable  rope,  of  which  all  the  hawsers  and 
tow-lines  used  by  vessels  in  the  river-trade  are  made  ;  indeed,  be- 
fore the  Eevolution,  it  was  extensively  used  in  the  navy  of  Spain. 
The  guembe  and  the  guembetaya  are  so  similar  in  appearance 
that  they  are  often  confounded,  but  they  have  very  different 
characteristics,  as  I  ascertained  by  observation,  which  was  con- 
firmed by  information  derived  from  an  intelligent  Paraguayan, 
who  had  given  some  attention  to  the  natural  products  of  his  coun- 


THE  GUEMBE  AND  THE  GUEMBETAYA.        I39 

try,  and  who  had  opportunities  of  observing  these  plants  at  all 
seasons.  The  guembe  is  valuable  for  its  bark  only,  the  guembe- 
taya  for  its  fruit.  The  latter  takes  root  in  the  earth,  generally 
near  some  large  tree,  around  which  it  will  entwine,  and  climb  to 
the  utmost  branches  with  such  a  grasp  as  not  unfrequently  to 
destroy  it.  It  bears  a  beautiful  trumpet-shaped  flower  of  a  deli- 
cate straw-color,  which  is  succeeded  by  a  fruit  highly  prized  by 
the  Indians.  It  is  similar  in  appearance  and  taste  to  Indian  corn, 
and  is  prepared  and  used  by  the  natives  in  the  same  manner  for 
bread.  I  had  an  opportunity  of  seeing  both  these  plants  growing, 
and  have  been  thus  particular  in  drawing  the  distinction  between 
them,  because  Azara,  generally  an  excellent  authority,  so  far  as 
he  touches  upon  the  botany  of  La  Plata,  speaks  only  of  the  guem- 
be, and  assigns  to  it  the  characteristics  of  both  plants. 

"While  off  Concepcion,  the  Water  Witch  was  an  object  of  great 
curiosity  and  interest,  not  only  to  the  inhabitants  of  the  town^  but 
to  those  of  the  surrounding  country ;  for  none  except  a  few  who 
had  visited  Ascension  when  a  steamer — a  rare  sight  even  there — 
happened  to  be  in  port  had  ever  before  seen  one.  People  from  a 
long  distance  in  the  interior  flocked  to  see  the  wonderful  bark. 
Men,  women,  and  children  crowded  on  board,  and  would  sit  for 
hours  under  the  awning  of  the  deck,  seemingly  astonished  and 
delighted  at  all  they  saw,  and  eagerly  questioning  the  old  Gua- 
rani  pilot  as  to  the  meaning  of  many  things  to  them  so  incompre- 
hensible. 

We  were  invited  on  the  first  evening  of  our  arrival  to  a  ball  at 
the  commandante's,  where  were  assembled  all  the  beauty  and  dis« 
tinction  of  the  place.  The  floor  of  the  ball-room  was  of  tile,  the 
lights  tallow ;  indeed,  there  was  little  to  meet  a  cosmopolitan 
standard  of  elegance,  but  the  good-breeding  and  native  tact  of 
the  people  made  it  an  occasion  of  enjoyment  to  us  all.  There  is 
no  village  or  region  of  the  earth  so  small  or  remote  as  not  to  have 
its  "  upper  ten."  The  knowledge  of  this  fact  placed  me  in  a  di- 
lemma. Being  the  "Senor  Commandante,"  I  was  expected  to 
select,  as  a  partner  for  the  waltz,  the  most  distinguished  lady 
present.  When  all  looked  alike,  it  was  impossible  to  discrimi- 
nate: a  mistake  would  have  been  a  national  insult.  In  this 
quandary,  I  placed  m37self  in  the  hands  of  the  commandante,  who 
dashed  off  to  a  formidable  row  of  females  at  the  upper  end  of  the 
room,  from  whence  he  brought  forth  a  partner,  assuring  me  she 
danced  divinely.     This  I  could  not  doubt,  for  what  woman  in 


140  A  BALL  AT  CONCEPCION. 

Spanish  America  can't  waltz,  and  waltz  well  ?  but  was  slie  one 
of  a  class  so  often  found  in  this  country,  that  "never  tires?" 

The  music  began ;  off  we  started,  followed  by  the  officers  of 
the  Water  Witch,  and  all  the  belles  and  beaux  of  the  town. 
Bound  and  round,  whirl  and  whirl — "Bravo,  Senor  Comman- 
dante !" — the  invariable  exclamation  of  our  host  as  we  passed — 
began  to  sound  faintly  in  my  ear;  on,  on  we  flew;  I  no  longer  sup- 
ported the  lady ;  she  carried  me  round.  Was  I  about  to  reahze 
the  theory  of  perpetual  motion  ?  Sights  and  sounds  were  grow- 
ing dim  and,  confused,  when,  perhaps  aroused  by  the  noisy 
"bravo"  of  the  commandante,  I  gathered  my  failing  strength, 
broke  away  from  the  fair  lady,  and  beat  a  retreat  from  the  room. 
I  was  fairly  danced  down. 

When  I  returned  after  a  few  moments'  absence,  the  senorita  had 
found  another  partner,  and  was  whirling  again,  looking  as  fresh 
and  smiling  as  if  just  beginning  the  dance.  The  refreshments 
consisted  of  cakes,  red  wine,  caiia,  and,  above  all,  the  important 
and  refreshing  mate. 

The  following  evening  was  passed  in  a  similar  manner  at  the 
house  of  "  Senor  Tachiera,"  a  Brazilian.  Senor  Tachiera  had  been 
a  detenu  of  Francia,  and  spoke  feelingly  of  his  efforts,  and  the  con- 
suming desire,  during  that  detention,  to  return  to  Brazil.  At  last 
he  resigned  himself  to  his  fate,  married  g,  Paraguayan,  and  had  a 
large  family  around  him.  "Now,"  said  he,  "I  have  taken  deep 
root  in  the  soil,  and  shall  never  see  Brazil  again."  Indeed,  the 
laws  oblige  him,  even  now,  to  take  root  in  the  soil,  or  "  abandon  his 
#wife;"  for  no  woman  can  leave  the  country  without  permission 
of  the  President,  a  favor  not  easily  obtained.  He  gave  me  a  small 
box  of  the  resin  of  the  "  Palo  Santo"  for  the  President  of  the 
United  States,  neatly  put  up  and  accompanied  by  a  note,  which 
I  forwarded  by  the  first  opportunity  to  the  Navy  Department. 
This  kind-hearted  Brazilian  and  his  family  were  indefatigable 
in  their  efforts  to  amuse  us:  the  daughter  danced  and  smoked 
with  a  vivacity  that  were  charming ;  for  the  usages  of  the  coun- 
try make  smoking  admissible  to  all,  men,  women,  and  children ; 
and  dancing  is  the  amusement  of  Spanish  America. 

These  simple  hospitalities  are  recalled  as  agreeable  social  remi- 
niscences of  life  in  that  interior  country,  and  were,  at  the  time,  a 
pleasant  relief  from  the  labors  of  the  expedition. 

We  were  astonished  to  find  the  women  of  these  remote  regions 
so  handsomely  and  appropriately  dressed;  and,  in  contradiction 


FIREWOOD  AND  TIMBER.  141 

to  all  previous  reports,  their  pretty  feet  were  covered  with  shoes 
and  stockings.  lu  fact,  there  is  no  fever  so  contagious  as  fashion ; 
and  as  there  was  a  rumor  that  the  President's  daughters  drew  upon 
French  art,  can  it  be  doubted  that  the  fair  ladies  of  Concepcion 
had  received  an  inspiration  from  those  importations  ?  Occasion- 
ally in  these  parts,  so  distant  from  Asuncion,  the  centre  of  Para- 
guayan distinction,  we  see  a  costume  of  Francia's  time,  the  short 
jacket  and  vest  scarce  covering  the  shoulder-blade,  and  the  point- 
ed hat  from  fourteen  to  sixteen  inches  high ;  but  an  individual 
who  should  appear  at  the  capital  in  such  a  costume  would  incur 
the  indignation  of  the  President  and  the  openly-expressed  ridicule 
ofaU. 

Concepcion  was  one  of  the  points  at  which  I  expected  wood, 
and  I  found  sixty  cords  of  the  best  quality  well  cut  and  corded. 
In  this  lot  no  less  than  twelve  persons  were  interested,  but  they 
permitted  us  to  receive  it  at  our  own  measurement.  Four  dollars 
per  cord  was  the  price  demanded.  In  a  land  of  endless  forests, 
this  was  perhaps  too  much;  but  it  was  cheap  fuel  when  it  is 
considered  that  with  it  the  steamer  was  run  at  the  rate  of  two 
dollars  the  hour.  It  was  a  new  business  to  these  people,  and  I 
could  afterward  have  contracted  for  any  quantity  at  the  rate  of 
from  two  and  a  half  to  three  dollars  the  cord.  When  a  trade 
shall  spring  up  with  Brazil  and  Bolivia  via  the  Paraguay,  the  cut- 
ting and  sale  of  wood  at  this  point  will  of  itself  give  profitable 
employment  to  hundreds  of  the  inhabitants  of  this  town. 

"  On  the  15th,"  says  my  journal,  "  we  were  again  under  way. 
Crowds  of  people  assembled  on  the  banks  to  see  the  Water  Witch 
move  under  steam.  Soon  passed  a  salina — salt-field.  The  water 
is  not  affected ;  to  the  taste  it  is  pure.  Arroyo  la  Patria  is  a  wide 
riacho  ten  miles  above  Concepcion,  which  extends  about  twelve 
miles  into  the  Chaco.  On  its  banks  are  noble  trees  of  la  pacho 
and  quebracho,  considered  the  hardest  and  most  durable  of  all  the 
arboreal  treasures  of  Paraguay.  They  would  be-  invaluable  for 
ship-building,  and  small  quantities  are  cut  for  this  purpose  annu- 
ally for  the  government,  and  transported  to  Asuncion.  The  banks 
of  the  Paraguay  are  here  on  both  sides  low  and  marshy,  but  some 
distance  inland  well  wooded.  Near  the  mouth  of  the  Kio  Saladil- 
lo  is  a  rock  in  mid-channel ;  on  either  side  deep  water.  This  is  an 
unimportant  stream,  rising  in  the  interior  of  Paraguay.  At  the 
season  of  low  water  it  is  so  strongly  impregnated  with  salt  that  it 
can  not  be  drunk.     The  channel  of  the  Paraguay  a  httle  above 


142  INDIANS  OF  THE  CHACO. 

here  is  diverted  from  wliat  would  seem  to  be  the  main  bed  of  the 
river  by  rocky  obstructions,  and  has  taken  a  course  west  of  the 
island  Uriate,  where  it  is  deep,  but  narrow.  Less  than  a  mile 
above  the  island  Zapepa,  and  about  twenty  from  Concepcion,  are 
Salinas^  and  near  them  many  huts  of  salt-gatherers.  I  am  partic- 
ular in  noting  these  instances  of  salinas  and  salados  to  the  east, 
because  most  writers  assert  that  they  exist  only  west  of  the  Para- 
guay and  Parana.  Thirty  miles  from  Concepcion  passed  the  mouth 
of  the  Arquidaban,  which  rises  in  the  Cordillera  Maricayu,  and 
empties  into  a  riacho  of  the  same  name." 

Four  miles  above,  for  the  first  time,  we  saw  a  number  of  In- 
dians on  the  Chaco  side.  Only  a  few  presented  themselves  im- 
mediately on  the  bank,  but  we  observed  a  large  body  half  con- 
cealed— they  imagined  wholly  so — by  the  long  grass  and  palm. 
Accompanied  by  some  of  the  ofiicers  and  men,  all  armed,  to  show 
that  we  were  prepared  to  be  either  friends  or  enemies,  I  went  on 
shore.  The  savages  had  placed  their  bows  and  arrows  at  a  dis- 
tance, and  as  we  landed  one  of  them  pointed  to  their  cacique. 
Our  Guarani  pilot  called  their  attention  to  '  our  cacique,'  when  a 
great  shaking  of  hands  took  place,  the  Indians  uttering  deep  gut- 
tural sounds.  I  gave  the  cacique  a  lighted  cigar,  of  which  he  took 
a  whiff,  and  passed  it  to  his  companions.  Soon  the  whole  party, 
men,  women,  and  children,  came  rushing  from  their  hiding-places, 
eager  to  shake  hands  with  us.  They  were  without  paint  or  orna- 
ments- of  any  kind,  and  perfectly  nude,  except  a  small  piece  of  cot- 
ton or  woolen  cloth,  or  skin  of  wild  animals,  around  the  loins. 
They  proved  to  be  a  part  of  the  famous  Lengua  tribe :  the  men 
were  good-looking,  well  made,  and  above  the  ordinary  stature; 
their  eyes  long,  not  unlike  the  Chinese,  but  larger ;  the  mouth 
wide.  The  women  were  disfigured  by  the  hideous  tattooing  which 
is,  according  to  Azara,  their  preparation  for  marriage.  These  In- 
dians have  horses  and  sheep,  cultivate  a  little  corn  and  cotton, 
and  their  women  spin  with  the  distaff',  and  weave  a  coarse  wool- 
en and  cotton  cloth. 

Hoping  to  satisfy  the  cacique  that  our  intentions  were  pacific, 
and  presuming  that  he  would  communicate  this  impression  to 
other  tribes  with  whom  he  might  fall  in,  I  invited  him  and  some 
others  to  go  on  board  the  Water  Witch.  It  must  have  been  to 
them  a  wonderful  sight,  for  not  only  no  steamer,  but  no  vessel  ap- 
proaching the  size  of  our  craft  had  ever  before  passed  over  these 
waters ;  but  not  a  sound  or  movement  betrayed  either  astonish- 


HIGH  LANDS.— SALVADOR  143 

ment,  admiration,  or  fear  on  the  part  of  tlie  chief  Some  of  those 
who  accompanied  him  had  less  command  over  themselves,  and 
manifested  a  little  uneasiness ;  no  persuasion  could  induce  them 
to  go  below,  after  having  been  shown  every  thing  on  deck.  We 
gave  them  a  few  trinkets,  fish-hooks,  cigars,  with  which  they  seem- 
ed pleased,  offering  us,  in  return,  some  balls  of  yarn  spun  by  their 
women.  The  point  in  the  Chaco  at  which  we  landed  for  a  parley 
with  these  Indians  was  a  verdant  plain  elevated  some  ten  feet 
above  the  river,  and  studded  inland  with  stately  palms  so  far  as 
the  eye  could  reach. 

At  the  close  of  day  we  anchored  fifty-two  miles  above  Concep- 
cion,  at  a  point  where  the  Riacho  No  via  unites  with  the  main  river. 
Width  one  third  of  a  mile ;  least  depth  since  leaving  Concepcion, 
fifteen  feet ;  greatest,  sixty  of  line,  and  "  no  bottom."  Temperature 
of  the  air  at  meridian,  92° ;  water,  86|-°. 

^'■November  16ih.  Under  way  at  an  early  hour  this  morning,  and 
had  made  but  little  progress,  when  we  came  to  the  most  extensive 
palm-forest  as  yet  seen.  It  reached  nine  unbroken  miles  along 
the  Chaco  bank,  and  extended  back  to  the  very  verge  of  the  hori- 
zon ;  the  grass  was  green  and  vigorous.  At  the  termination  of  this 
plain  the  banks  rise  to  the  height  of  fifteen  feet,  covered  for  several 
miles  with  lapacho  and  quebracho.  This  is  the  greatest  elevation 
we  have  met  with  since  leaving  Concepcion ;  the  more  remarka- 
ble for  being  on  the  west.  Saw  another  party  of  mounted  Indians 
approaching  the  river  at  full  speed,  but  they  proved  to  be  a  part 
of  the  same  tribe  we  had  already  seen,  and  wanted  presents. 

"  Before  us  the  first  rolling  land — in  rear  of  the  town  of  Salvador 
— was  seen  since  leaving  Concepcion.  The  estancias  and  quintas 
of  this  range  look  well  in  the  distance,  and  add  much  to  the  cheer- 
fulness and  picturesque  beauty  of  the  country.  The  town  stands 
half  way  up  this  ridge,  which  rises  gradually  from  the  water  to 
the  height  of  about  one  hundred  feet,  and  forms  a  plateau  extend- 
ing back  about  half  a  mile.  The  approach  to  it  by  the  river  is 
very  pretty ;  shore  line  crescent-shaped.  Anchored  in  thirty  feet 
water. 

"  Salvador,  in  latitude  22°  48'  45''  south,  longitude  57°  54'  33" 
west,  has  about  one  thousand  inhabitants,  and  is,  by  the  course  of 
the  river,  seventy  miles  from  Concepcion,  and  the  most  northern 
town  or  settlement,  except  guardias,  in  Paraguay. ,  Least  depth 
of  water  to  this  place  fifteen  feet,  and  this  at  a  season  when  the 
river  is  supposed  to  be  eight  feet  above  its  lowest  point  and  six 


144  TEMPERATURE.— CONDITION  OF  THE  COUNTRY. 

below  its  highest.  We  are  now  five  hundred  and  twenty  miles 
from  the  mouth  of  the  Paraguay,  and  have  encountered  no  obsta- 
cles to  a  clear  and  easy  navigation  of  its  waters.  An  experienced 
boatman  of  our  Western  rivers  could  discover,  by  inspection  only, 
the  course  of  deep  water.  The  temperature  of  the  water,  86°,  is  a 
mean  between  the  daily  extremes  of  the  atmosphere.  Since  leav- 
ing Concepcion  the  thermometer  has  ranged  from  75°  to  95°,  the 
minimum  being  at  8  A.M.,  rising  and  falling  at  both  points  with 
the  influence  of  north  and  south  winds.  The  heat  is  always  more 
or  less  tempered  by  breezes.  In  our  gradual  approach  to  the 
equator  we  have  perhaps  become  somewhat  acclimated ;  for,  spite 
of  the  fatigue  of  watching  ten  or  twelve  hours  of  the  twenty -four 
on  the  hurricane  deck,  where  we  are  brought  in  close  proximity  to 
the  smoke-stack,  with  only  an  awning  to  protect  us  from  the  effects 
of  a  vertical  sun,  we  have  not  found  the  heat  insufferable.  Our 
thermometer,  as  much  removed  as  possible  from  the  influence  of 
artificial  heat,  was  no  index  to  the  temperature  of  our  working 
position,  selected  for  the  purpose  of  giving  an  uninterrupted  view 
of  the  river  and  adjacent  country." 

Soon  after  anchoring  we  visited  the  commandante.  In  the  at- 
tentions paid  to  us  here,  and  at  every  point  on  the  river,  the  influ- 
ence of  government  orders  is  apparent.  Our  arrival  was  evident- 
ly anticipated  by  instructions  from  the  capital,  and  both  officials 
and  villagers  offered  us  every  facility  in  the  prosecution  of  our 
work.  Apart  from  this  influence,  the  inhabitants  of  Paraguay 
manifest  an  unmistakable  disposition  to  exercise  hospitality  toward 
strangers. 

Though  surrounded  by  great  natural  advantages,  the  people  of 
Salvador  are  poor.  Their  condition  is  a  silent  but  expressive  re- 
proach to  the  policy  of  Paraguayan  rulers ;  for  to  supply  their  im- 
mediate and  absolute  wants,  and  to  meet  punctually  the  exactions 
of  the  government,  are  all  they  are  taught  or  permitted.  I  ac- 
cepted the  commandante's  offer  of  horses,  and,  accompanied  by 
several  of  the  ofl&cers  of  the  Water  Witch,  rode  over  the  neigh- 
boring country.  The  estancias  were  small,  and  the  stock  neither 
in  number  nor  quality  very  great ;  the  soil,  though  sandy,  seemed 
to  be  highly  adapted  to  the  most  varied  products.  Corn,  rice, 
sugar-cane,  tobacco,  mandioca,  water-melons,  cabbages,  pimipkins, 
and  several  varieties  of  beans  were  growing  luxuriantly.  The 
rice  was  the  upland  species,  cultivated  in  rows,  at  an  elevation  of 
eighty  feet  above  the  water ;  it  required  no  irrigation,  and  prom- 


THE  CARAGUATAY  GUAZU.  145 

ised  an  abundant  harvest.  The  indigenous  products  of  this  region 
are  also  valuable.  The  wild  maize,  the  Abatiguaniha  of  the  Gua- 
rani,  is  a  bountiful  provision  of  nature,  for  it  is  parched  or  pound- 
ed into  meal  by  the  natives,,  and  much  liked  by  them  when  made 
into  bread.  The  grain  is  not  unhke  millet,  with  blades  one  third 
of  the  width  of  common  Indian  corn. 

In  this  vicinity  the  most  useful  species  of  the  aloe  tribe  abounds, 
xhe  Caraguatay  guazu:  from  its  filamentous  tissues  the  people  of 
the  country  make  ropes,  fishing-lines,  etc.  Careful  experiments 
have  proved  it  to  be  both  stronger  and  more  durable  for  cordage 
than  hemp,  while,  at  the  same  time,  it  may  be  manufactured  into 
the  finest  fabrics.  The  Spaniards  used  it  for  caulking,  and  pre- 
ferred it  to  every  other  material ;  and  Don  Josef  de  Bustamente  y 
Guerra,  a  friend  and  contemporary  of  Azara,*  experimented  with 
ropes  of  it  and  of  hemp — the  latter  made  at  a  Spanish  arsenal — 
and  his  trial  proved  that  of  caraguatay  to  be  the  stronger. 

Under  the  direction  of  the  Jesuits,  the  Indians  spun  and  wove 
it  into  cloth,  and,  according  to  Dobrizhoffer,  such  beautiful  stock- 
ings were  made  of  its  thread,  that  in  France,  both  for  strength  and 
softness,  they  were  preferred  to  silk ;  but  he  also  tells  us  that  "  no 
time  or  art  can  make  these  threads  white,  nor  will  they  hold  color." 
We  have  only  to  remember  that  this  intelligent  Jesuit  wrote  more 
than  a  century  ago*  and  that  now  art  and  science,  applied  to  man- 
ufactures, seeni  to  make  all  things  possible.  The  Styrian  Father 
continues  in  his  quaint  style  to  dwell  upon  the  uses  of  the  different 
species  of  this  plant : 

"  Their  leaves  supply  the  place  of  flax  in  making  thread.  The 
Indians  look  upon  the  various  fruits  of  the  caraguatay  as  food. 
From  their  leaves,  when  scraped  with  a  knife,  flows  a  sweet  liquor, 
which  is  thickened  on  the  fire,  and  condensed  into  sugar.  This 
liquor  of  the  caraguatay,  mixed  in  water  with  the  seeds  of  oranges 
or  lemons,  undergoes  a  vinous  fermentation ;  exposed  to  the  sun, 
it  turns  to  vinegar.  By  what  method  and  in  what  cases  wounds 
are  healed  by  the  juice  of  the  caraguatay  would  be  long  to  tell.  A 
polypodium,  preferable  in  the  opinion  of  physicians  to  any  Euro- 
pean one,  grows  on  the  caraguatay." 

In  this  vicinity  is  found  the  "datil,"  one  of  the  numerous  palms, 

*  Azara :  "  Mon  ami  Don  Josef  de  Bustamente  y  Guerra,  fit  fabriqner  avec  du 
caraguata  un  bout  de  corde  de  la  grosseur  du  pouce ;  et  I'ayant  compare  avec  un 
autre  de  la  meme  grosseur,  fabrique'  dans  nos  arsenaux  avec  du  chanvre,  celui  de 
caraguata  se  trouva  plus  fort." 

10 


146         EEPTILE  HUNTING.— USES  OF  HIDES. 

Its  fruit  grows  in  clusters,  looking  like  a  colossal  bunch  of  grapes ; 
the  outer  shell  is  thin,  and  envelops  a  sweet,  yellowish,  stringy- 
substance,  of  which  the  natives  are  very  fond,  covering  a  nut 
about  an  inch  in  diameter,  containing  the  kernel  from  which  the 
oil  is  extracted  either  by  pressure  or  boiling.  The  appearance 
and  size  of  this  nut  are  similar  to  that  of  the  filbert,  and  in  taste 
it  is  very  like  the  cocoanut. 

Although  little  accustomed  to  trade,'  we  found  the  people  quite 
ready  to  dispose  of  any  article  for  cash.  I  employed  a  boy  to  pro- 
cure reptiles,  and  for  this  purpose  gave  him  two  large  specimen- 
jars  half  filled  with  cana,  charging  him  to  omit  no  species,  how- 
ever common  in  the  country.  He  soon  returned  with  a  quantity 
of  diminutive  toads,  enough  to  have  stocked  every  collection  in 
the  United  States.  I  discontinued  his  services,  but  found  that  I 
had  started  a  new  branch  of  trade  in  Salvador,  for  a  goodly  por- 
tion of  the  population  turned  out  reptile-hunting ;  and  had  I  not 
left  the  following  day,  I  might  unintentionally  have  worked  one 
of  the  miracles  of  Saint  Patrick  for  this  neighborhood. 

In  a  chmate  where  the  thermometer  ranges  from  76°  to  96°  the 
lightest  clothing  is  alone  comfortable ;  many  altogether  despise 
this  essential  of  civihzation;  and  half-grown  boys  and  girls,  whose 
limbs  had  never  been  girded,  ran  about  the  country,  or,  plunging 
into  the  river  as  if  it  were  their  natural  element,  swam  around  the 
Water  Witch,  looking  as  innocent  and  unconscious  as  our  first  pa- 
rents before  the  fall. 

Having  received  wood  and  supplies  of  fresh  provisions,  consist- 
ing of  molasses,  beef,  figs,  chickens,  eggs,  corn,  milk,  mandioca, 
cabbages,  onions,  and  pumpkins,  we  bade  adieu  to  the  people  of 
the  town,  who  came  down  to  see  us  off — to  wish  us  success  and 
a  speedy  return.  The  molasses,  made  in  the  neighborhood,  was 
of  excellent  quality,  and  we  paid  for  it  at  the  rate  of  twelve  and  a 
half  cents  a  gallon.  I  purchased  a  quantity  for  the  ship's  compa- 
ny, which  was  brought  on  board  in  an  ox-hide,  having  its  four 
corners  drawn  together  and  fastened  so  that  it  could  be  swung 
upon  a  pole  and  carried  by  two  men.  It  was  poured  into  some 
empty  casks  in  the  "  spirit- room,"  and  the  hide  returned  to  the 
men  who  brought  it.  They  expressed  much  astonishment  at  our 
generosity,  and  evidently  considered  it  of  more  value  than  the  mo- 
lasses. We  had  been  too  long  in  the  country  not  to  have  discov- 
ered that,  though  abounding  in  wood  and  iron,  hide  was  the  favor- 
ite substitute  for  both,  as  well  as  for  rope  and  a  variety  of  other 


ASCENT  OF  THE  RIVER.— PASO  MALO. 


147 


articles  considered  by  \is  essentials  in  the  ruder  mechanical  arts. 
If  yerba,  the  staple  of  the  country,  is  to  be  transported  thousands 
of  miles,  it  is  neither  packed  in  barrels  nor  boxes,  but  in  hide  bags 
{tercias)^  sewed  up  with  strips  of  the  same  material. 

There  was  a  little  craft  at  the  landing,  receiving  on  board  hides 
and  yerba,  the  only  articles  of  trade  from  Salvador.  The  "yer- 
bales"  are  seventy  miles  from  this  place,  but,  owing  to  the  monop- 
oly of  their  product  by  the  government,  the  population  in  the  vi- 
cinity of  them  has  diminished,  and  the  annual  shipment  decreased 
from  six  hundred  thousand  arrobas  to  fifty  thousand. 

"  Under  way,"  says  my  journal.  "  Have  advanced  three  and  a 
half  miles,  and  are  passing  a  government  estancia  extending  three 
leagues  on  the  river,  and  containing  a  herd  of  six  thousand  head 
of  horned  cattle,  some  hogs  and  sheep ;  the  two  first  very  supe- 
rior, the  sheep  mdilFerent.  These  government  estancias  are  to  be 
found  in  every  part  of  Paraguay,  but  more  particularly  along  the 
river  and  in  the  vicinity  of  guardias.  Seven  miles  above  Salva- 
dor, encountered  a  ledge  of  rocks  which  extends  across  two  thirds 
the  width  of  the  river,  forcing  the  channel  on  the  Chaco  side. 
There  is  no  appearance  of  rock  formation  on  either  bank,  both  be- 
ing here  low  and  marshy.  This  characteristic  continues  for  five 
miles  to  Piquete  Arracife,  in  latitude  22°  45'  33'',  and  longitude 
57°  57'  31",  distant  from  Asuncion  two  hundred  and  sixty-two 
nules.  Except  piquetes  and  guardias,  there  is  not,  beyond,  a  sin- 
gle habitation  on  Paraguay  territory,  and  this  is  the  last  place  at 
which  we  have  contracted  for  the  deUvery  of  wood. 

"  The  weather  to-day,  November  17th,  has  been  intensely  hot, 
thermometer  ranging  from  75°  at  three  A.M.  to  99°  at  three  P.M. ; 
at  midnight  thermometer  showed  86°,  and  at  six  A.M.  79°,  the 
wind  being  north  and  northwest,  the  point  whence  come  winds 
charged  with  the  radiated  heat  of  a  vast  pampa.  The  fires  of  the 
furnace  having  been  extinguished  while  wooding  at  midday,  the 
reading  of  the  thermometer  at  three  P.M.  was  uninfluenced  by  any 
current  of  artificial  heat.  Half  a  mile  below  Arracife  is  a  ledge 
of  rocks  on  either  side  of  the  channel,  but  navigation  is  neither 
impeded  nor  endangered  by  them. 

"  One  mile  above  is  Paso  Malo — "  Bad  Pass,"  so  called  from 
there  bemg  less  water  than  at  any  point  between  Asuncion  and 
Albuquerque ;  and  yet,  even  here,  the  least  depth  is  twelve  feet, 
and  this  we  found  at  only  two  casts  of  the  lead,  equivalent  to  six 
feet  when  the  river  is  at  its  lowest  state.     Both  banks  continue 


148  WARLIKE  INDIANS. 

low,  with  extensive  plains  of  palm  and  grass  on  the  Chaco  side. 
Advanced  twelve  miles ;  the  river  turns  east,  and  the  Sierra  Yta- 
pucumini,  which  is  first  seen  in  the  distance  at  Piquete  Tobas,  six 
miles  below,  terminates  on  the  left  bank,  in  a  bluff  of  limestone 
forty  feet  high,  covered  with  a  growth  of  valuable  woods.  This 
wooded  limestone  plateau  continues  for  some  miles  on  the  east 
bank,  while  the  opposite  or  Chaco  side  presents  the  same  low 
plain  of  palms.  The  Sierra  Ytapucumini  is  a  continuation  of  the 
distant  high  lands  first  seen  in  approaching  Salvador.  All  the 
limestone  used  at  Asuncion,  and  other  places  on  the  river,  is  taken 
from  this  neighborhood." 

Five  miles  above  Arracife,  while  running  close  to  the  right 
bank,  we  saw  a  host  of  mounted  Indians  in  the  distance.  They 
came  dashing  at  a  full  gallop  over  the  plain,  looking  like  Cen- 
taurs, as  they  gracefully  guided  their  horses  through  the  windings 
of  a  dense  palm  forest,  and  undeviatingly  directed  their  course  to 
the  river,  without  for  an  instant  checking  speed.  On  they  came, 
men  and  women,  in  all  their  nudity ;  no  garments  of  any  descrip- 
tion, except  a  piece  of  stuff  about  the  loins ;  neither  paint  nor  or- 
naments, neither  saddles  nor  bridles,  but  controlling  their  animals 
with  a  rude  rein  of  hide  passed  over  the  lower  jaw,  and  confined 
by  a  thong  of  the  same  material. 

Arrived  on  the  bank,  they  made  signs  for  a  "talk."  The 
steamer  was  stopped,  and  some  of  us  landed.  They  proved  to  be 
a  part  of  one  of  the  most  warlike  tribes,  the  Angaite,  and  were 
noble-looking  creatures,  above  the  ordinary  stature,  and  well 
formed :  their  teeth  were  white  and  regular ;  hair  luxuriant,  •and 
cut  square  upon  the  forehead.  We  gazed  with  interest  upon 
these  savages,  for  the  warlike  Chaco  tribes  have  alone,  amid  the 
degradation  and  extirpation  of  the  nations  of  their  race  upon  the 
American  continent,  defied,  for  more  than  three  centuries,  the 
power  of  the  white  man.  They  still  maintain  their  wild  independ- 
ence, not  in  mtricate  and  inaccessible  passes  of  mountain  ranges — 
not  in  great  sterile  plains,  or  among  death-exhaling  morasses, 
where  the  ingenuity  or  industry  of  the  white  man  could  obtain 
no  remunerative  return,  but  over  a  vast  domain  of  two  hundred 
thousand  square  miles,  spreading  out  into  noble  forests  of  precious 
woods,  lovely  plains,  accessible  by  navigable  rivers,  and  irrigated 
by  hundreds  of  their  tributary  streams ;  a  land  not  figuratively, 
but  literally  flowing  with  milk  and  honey.*  They  have  a  salu- 
*  The  honey  of  the  Chaco  is  celebrated  in  La  Plata. 


f/i  I  Kill  ^^H\  T,^^'  -"^''-^1  ^1^. 


COURSE  OF  THE  RIVER.  151 

brioiis  climate ;  a  remedio,  iu  tlieir  indigenous  products,  for  every 
disease  and  wound ;  amid  a  perfection  of  vegetal  beauty,  they 
live,  attaining  a  longevity  almost  unknown  to  the  white  man, 
without  the  physical  decay  of  his  old  age. 

After  a  talk,  and  presents  of  tobacco  and  beads,  we  left  them, 
with  a  promise,  on  their  part,  to  meet  us  on  our  return,  with  skins 
of  wild  animals,  specimens,  etc. ;  but  we  never  saw  them  again. 

"  Four  miles  to  the  Piquete  Judiarte ;  river  more  tortuous, 
winding  through  twenty  points  of  the  compass.  This  piquete  is 
twenty-two  miles  from  Salvador  by  the  river,  and  nine  by  land. 
Extensive  palm  plains  begin  on  the  east,  and  disappear  on  the 
west.  I  have  observed  that  rarely  or  never  do  those  plains  ap- 
pear on  both  banks  at.  the  same  time.  At  the  Vuelta  Caapucu 
the  course  of  the  river  is  diverted  by  rocky  obstructions,  and  the 
west  bank  becomes  more  elevated.  After  passing  the  last  piquete, 
the  Sierra  Caapucu  may  be  seen  at  intervals  at  some  distance  in 
the  interior.  Twenty  miles  above,  it  approaches  the  Paraguay, 
and  presents  a  precipitous  rocky  bluff,  known  to  the  natives  as 
Piedra  Partida — '  Freestone.'  This  range  extends  five  miles  on 
the  river,  and  throughout  the  whole  distance  is  covered  with  fine 
timber.  It  then  recedes  again,  and  terminates  about  half  a  mile 
in  the  interior,  in  a  beautiful  cone — Mount  Pina  Hermosa,*  which 
is  twenty-six  miles  from  Piquete  Judiarte. 

^^ November  18ih.  Continue  to  ascend;  in  view  upon  the  left, 
mountain  ranges  well  timbered,  contrasting  strangely  with  the 
boundless  palm  plains  of  the  right  bank.  At  three  points  in  this 
day's  work  have  observed  an  inclination  of  the  channel  to  the 
west ;  the  only  deviation  from  an  easterly  direction,  which  it  has 
heretofore  maintained  with  great  uniformity.  May  not  this  arise 
from  the  physical  changes  to  which  I  have  alluded,  and  the  bar- 
rier which  the  rocky  abutments  of  the  east  bank  oppose  to  the 
working  of  the  river  in  that  direction  ? 

"  November  19th.  With  intervals  of  a  few  minutes  for  meals,  I 
have  worked  to-day  incessantly  for  "ten  hours.  This,  with  the 
debilitating  influence  of  the  weather,  has  produced  excessive  fa- 
tigue and  lassitude.  In  these  latitudes  I  believe  the  siesta  is  es- 
sential to  vigorous  health.  Thermometer  has  ranged  from  84°  to 
96°  at  3  P.M.  Wind  K,  N.E.,  and  N.AV.  At  6  P.M.,  wind 
S.E. ;  thermometer  76° :  the  influence  of  the  wind,  in  this  in- 
stance, producing,  in  three  hours,  a  change  of  temperature  great- 

*  So  called  from  a  stone  of  fine  texture  found  in  it. 


152  BEAUTIFUL  SCENERY. 

er  than  is  here  caused  bj  the  seasons ;  and  this  is  the  uniform 
result, 

"  Passing  a  rocky  bluif  on  the  left  bank,  where  stands  the  Guar- 
dia  Apatuya :  it  is  sixty  miles  above  Salvador,  and  the  last  'of 
these  posts  but  one  in  approaching  the  northern  frontier. 

"  Having  broken  another  crank  strap,  anchored  two  miles  be- 
yond, at  the  mouth  of  the  E,iacho  Toldocue,  which  takes  its  name 
from  a  tribe  of  Indians  that  formerly  occupied  the  adjacent  coun- 
try. There  is  an  absence  of  every  mark  of  civilization,  but  the 
scenery  is  surpassingly  beautiful ;  the  distant  ranges  and  spurs  of 
sierras  on  the  left,  although  of  no  great  height,  present  ever- varying 
landscapes ;  and  as  the  steamer  passes  her  length  upon  the  waters, 
picturesque  views  open  upon  us  in  the  east  with  increased  beauty. 
From  our  anchorage,  a  distant  view  of  Mount  Galvan.  Cloudy 
weather  prevents  the  usual  observations  for  geographical  determ- 
ination. 

"  November  20th.  Throughout  this  day  the  beauty  of  the  face 
of  the  country  has  called  forth  the  admiration  of  all  on  board. 
On  both  sides,  mountains.  On  the  east,  the  spurs  of  the  Sierras 
Morada  and  Ytapucu  Guazu,  crowned  with  forests  of  noble  tim- 
ber, approach  the  river  in  precipitous,  sections  of  stratified  rock, 
of  from  sixty  to  one  hundred  feet  elevation,  and  inclose  between 
them  palm  plains,  with  grass  green  and  fresh  as  a  hay-field  in 
June.  On  the  Chaco  side,  the  lofty  conical  Galvan  stands  like  a 
watch-tower  over  the  plains.  Isolated,  it  rises  from  a  sea  of  palm 
and  grass,  which  stretches  easterly  to  the  river,  and  on  the  north, 
south,  and  west  to  the  verge  of  the  horizon. 

"  November  21st.  Scenery  continues  very  beautiful.  On  the 
east,  the  spurs  of  the  sierras  still  approach  and  recede  from  the 
river,  the  dark  verdure  of  their  forests  enameled  by  the  brilliant 
flora  of  parasite  and  epiphyte.  Our  crew,  about  fifty  souls,  many 
of  thorn  rude  seamen — 'they  that  go  down  to  the  sea  in  ships, 
and  occupy  their  business  in  great  waters' — gaze  around  them  in 
silence,  and,  from  their  unusually  subdued  manner,  we  may  be- 
lieve with  hearts  touched  by  the  wondrous  beauties  of  creation 
hourly  unfolded.  They  are  many  hundred  miles  from  the  sea,  in 
a  vessel  diminutive,  it  is  true,  but  one  in  which  they  had  trav- 
ersed seven  thousand  miles  of  ocean  before  entering  these  waters. 
Their  rugged  natures  are  still  disciplined  by  the  laws  and  regula- 
tions of  a  national  ship,  '  afloat,'  not  upon  the  broad  ocean,  but 
upon  a  river ;  not  watching  the  sporting  of  the  Great  Leviathan, 


YTAPUCU  GUAZU. 


153 


or  the  plienomena  of  a  vast  expanse  of  sea  and  sky,  but  cruising 
through  verdant  plains,  flower-gardens,  parks,  forests  of  gigantic 
trees,  mountain  ranges,  their  wild  grandeur  contrasting  impress- 
ively with  the  green  fields  nestling  under  and  between  them. 
There  is  a  pervading  woody  aroma;  all  the  depth  and  brilliant 
tints  of  tropical  regions ;  new  and  beautiful  species  of  animal  life 
swim  across  the  steamer's  track,  or  appear  upon  the  banks,  or 
dash  through  the  bordering  forest ;  the  day  is  enlivened  by  con- 
certs of  birds  of  gay  plumage ;  the  stillness  of  the  night  is  broken 
by  strange  sounds  from  the  shores,  as  if  all  animated  life  was 
startled  by  the  appearance  of  this  new  force  of  civilization  dis- 
turbino;  the  solitude  of  their  domain. 


TBEMINATXON  OP  A  SPHE  OP  YTAPDCD  GUAZU. 


"  We  have  now  in  full  view  the  rocky  spurs,  of  the  Morada  and 
the  '  Ytapucu  Guazu ;'  they  contain  quarries  of  a  sandstone  of 
fine  texture,  said  to  be  of  unequaled  quality  when  worked  into 
hones  for  fine  edged  tools.  On  the  Chaco  side,  small  patches  of 
pumpkins,  but  no  Indian  near  them ;  even  on  this  limited  scale 
it  is  the  first  cultivation  we  have  seen  on  that  bank. 

"  Anchored  off  Guardia  Concluencia.  It  stands  on  the  slope 
of  a  section  of  the  '  Ytapucu  Guazu,'  and  is  the  northern  frontier 
guardia  of  Paraguay,  distant  from  Asuncion  three  hundred  and 
fifty  miles.  The  encroachments  of  Brazil  and  the  hostilities  of 
the  Chaco  Indians  are  here  alike  feared." 


154  INDIANS  OF  THE  CHACO. 

Soon  after  landing  we  received  a  visit  from  the  commandante, 
who  proudly  speaks  of  his  guardia  as  the  northern  key  to  the  re- 
public. An  irreconcilable  feud  seems  to  exist  between  the  Para- 
guayans and  the  warlike  Indians  of  the  neighboring  territory. 
The  savages  have  few  or  no  canoes,  and  rarely  go  upon  the  water ; 
but  the  Paraguayans  owe  their  exemption  from  all  hostile  incur- 
sion less  to  the  barrier  which  the  river  presents  than  to  the  divi- 
sions and  jealousies  existing  among  the  tribes,  and  to  the  absence 
among  them  of  all  arms  that  could  be  effective  in  invading  the 
opposite  country ;  for,  on  foot,  the  bow  and  arrow,  and,  mounted, 
the  lance,  are  still  their  only  implements  of  war.  The  immensity 
of  their  territory  and  their  nomadic  habits  render  them,  in  return, 
safe  from  all  pursuit.  Mounted  upon  fleet  horses,  with  their  wives 
and  children,  and  driving  flocks  and  herds  before  them,  they  have 
only  to  plunge  into  the  unexplored  regions  of  their  domain. 

Though  the  white  population  of  La  Plata  dwell  with  enthusiasm 
upon  the  beauty  and  fruitfulness  of  the  Chaco,  few  or  none  but 
the  Jesuits  have  ever  attempted  to  explore  the  mysteries  of  its 
interior.  We  have  for  some  days  been  passing  the  lands  still 
occupied  by  Mbayas,  Lenguas,  Angaite,  and  Guanos,  names  famil- 
iar to  us  from  the  contests  of  their  progenitors  with  the  Spanish 
conquerors;  "nations  comprehending  innumerable  divisions,  or 
small  tribes,  who  add  to  their  names  with  time,  and,  when  ques- 
tioned on  this  subject,  give  the  new  additions  without  dispensing 
with  the  old.  It  is  beyond  question  that  the  charts  of  the  Jesuits 
scarcely  have  space  for  the  insertion  of  their  different  names,  so 
numerous  are  the  tribes."* 

I  should  judge  by  my  own  observation,  and  from  information 
given  me  by  inhabitants  of  the  country,  that  these  unsubjugated 
Indians,  with  the  exception  of  the  domesticity  of  birds  and  quad- 
rupeds among  them — a  thing  unknown  at  the  time  of  the  Span- 
ish invasion — still  retain  the  habits  and  physical  characteristics 
which  the  early  writers  upon  this  country,  a  little  later  the  Jesu- 
its, and  more  recently  Azara,  have  ascribed  to  them.  A  Jesuit 
divides  them  into  "  Equestrian"  and  "  Pedestrian"  tribes,  but 
Azara  more  justly  distinguishes  them  as  "Warlike"  and  "Agri- 
cultural." Though  they  are  now,  and  were  at  the  time  of  the 
Jesuitic  influence,  skillful  horsemen,  it  was  an  art  acquired  from 
the  Spaniards,  who,  as  is  well  known,  introduced  the  horse  upon 
that  section  of  the  continent ;  agriculture  was,  at  the  time  of  the 

*  Azara, 


THEIR  PHYSICAL  VIGOR.  I55 

invasion,  pursued  with  success  by  some  of  the  tribes,  while  oth- 
ers, warhke  and  ferocious,  Hved  by  the  chase  or  fishing. 

Though  many  of  them  now  possess  horned  cattle,  sheep,  and 
horses,  except  for  the  latter,  which  have,  from  habit,  become  nec- 
essary to  them,  they  give  to  their  increase  little  or  no  attention. 
Mounted,  they  course  over  the  Chaco,  preferring  the  precarious 
subsistence  of  the  chase  to  pastoral  or  agricultural  pursuits,  which 
the  fruitfalness  of  the  soil,  the  fine  natural  pastures,  and  the  con- 
stant recurrence  of  saliferous  lands  and  waters  would  make  so  sure 
and  easy  a  source  of  supply  for  all  their  physical  necessities. 

The  most  extraordinary  accounts  are  given  by  the  Jesuits  of 
the  size,  strength,  and  vigor  of  the  warlike  Chaco  Indians.  I  have 
alluded  to  the  Abipones,  a  few  of  whom,  in  a  semi-civilized  state, 
we  saw  near  Santa  Fe.  Dobrizhoflfer  speaks  of  them  as  a  nation 
of  Masanissas.  "If,"  says  this  author,  "a  man  dies  at  eighty,  he 
is  lamented  as  if  cut  oflp  in  the  flower  of  his  age."  He  mentions 
men  of  a  hundred  mounting  fiery  horses  like  boys  of  twelve  years; 
and  adds,  "  Women  generally  live  longer  than  men,  because  they 
are  not  killed  in  war."  He  proceeds  to  account  for  this  lon- 
gevity without  physical  decay,  and  their  organization,  "muscu- 
lar," "robust,"  and  "agile,"  which  he  ascribes  somewhat  to  cli- 
matic influence,  but  still  more  to  the  instinctive  avoidance  by 
youth,  both  males  and  females,  of  licentious  courses'  and  to  tem- 
perance through  life  in  food  and  all  sensual  gratification.  What 
Tacitus  says  of  the  ancient  Germans  he  applies  to  them :  "  Cibi 
simplices,  agrestia  poma,  recens  fera,  aut  lac  concretum,  sine  appa- 
ratu,  sine  blandimentis  expellunt  famem." 

Azara,  who  wrote  many  years  after  the  Styrian  Jesuit,  in  speak- 
ing of  Lenguas,  Mbayas,  and  other  warlike  tribes,  says,  "  Their 
height,  the  grandeur  and  elegance  of  their  forms  and  their  pro- 
portions are  not  equaled  in  the  world."  He  refers  constantly  to 
Indians,  vigorous,  athletic,  and  possessing  perfect  hair  and  teeth, 
who  had  numbered  several  years  over  a  century. 

A  cacique  of  the  Mbayas,  Nabidigua,  six  feet  two  inches  high, 
was,  in  1794,  asked  his  age.  He  replied,  "  I  do  not  know ;  but 
when  the  Cathedral  in  Asuncion  was  begun,  I  was  married  and 
had  a  son."  This  Cathedral  was  built  in  1689,  and,  supposing  the 
cacique  to  have  been  fifteen  at  the  time  of  his  marriage,  he  must 
have  been,  in  1794,  one  hundred  and  twenty  years  old,  and  yet  he 
then  "  mounted  his  horse,  handled  his  lance,  went  into  war,  or  fol- 
lowed the  chase  with  the  youngest." 


156  THE  MBAYAS  AND  LENGUAS. 

Of  all  the  tribes,  the  Mbajas  continued  to  give  most  trouble  to 
the  white  population,  crossing  the  Paraguay  and  waging  war  for 
many  years  so  successfally,  to  the  very  neighborhood  of  Asuncion, 
that  the  Spaniards  were  forced,  in  1746,  to  conclude  a  formal  treaty 
of  peace  with  them.  They  are  still  seen  in  those  parallels  of  the 
Chaco,  20°  and  22°  south,  which  they  originally  occupied,  divided 
into  iolderias,  or  wigwams.  Azara,  in  writing  of  them  at  the  close 
of  the  eighteenth  century,  says,  "  They  had  with  them  many  Gua- 
nos, part  of  an  agricultural  tribe,  who  served  them,  cultivating 
their  lands  without  remuneration ;  for  this  reason  the  Mbayas 
call  them  their  slaves,  but  their  servitude  is  gentle,  because  the 
Guanos  submit  to  it  voluntarily  and  renounce  it  at  will.  Added 
to  this,  their  masters  give  few  orders,  they  never  employ  an  imper- 
ative and  obligatory  tone,  and  they  partake  of  all  things,  even 
their  carnal  pleasures,  with  the  Guanos,  for  the  Mbayas  are  not 
jealous." 

The  Chaco  was  both  the  Elysium  and  Palestine  of  the  Indians 
in  that  section  of  the  continent.  Undoubtedly  occupied  by  indig- 
enous tribes,  it  yet  became  the  hiding-place  or  refuge-home  of  all 
who  fled  from  the  Spaniards  of  Peru,  or  from  those  east  of  the 
central  rivers,  but,  above  all,  from  the  Portuguese  slave-hunters ; 
"for  there  they  had  mountains  for  observatories,  trackless  woods 
for  fortifications,  rivers  and  marshes  for  ditches,  and  plantations 
of  fruit-trees  for  store-houses."*  And  there  their  descendants  still 
live,  in  wild  independence,  bidding  defiance  to  the  white  popula- 
tion of  the  opposite  shores  of  "La  Plata." 

I  have  alluded  to  our  parleys  with  Lenguas,  or  Guaycurus,  and 
Anguites,  and  can  add  my  testimony  to  the  assertions  of  the  Jes- 
uits and  Spanish  authors  as  to  their  extraordinary  physical  organ- 
ization, superior  stature,  teeth,  perfection  of  limb ;  those  relating 
to  their  health  and  longevity  without  decay  are  fully  confirmed 
by  the  people  of  the  country. 

The  Paraguay  Eiver  was  generally,  but  not  invariably,  the 
boundary  between  the  warlike  and  agricultural  nations.  The 
Guanos,  to  whom  I  have  alluded  as  the  slaves  or  laborers  of  the 
Mbayas,  were  found  west  of  the  river,  while  the  innumerable 
tribes  comprehended  in  the  Guarani  nation  occupied  a  large  part 
of  Brazil  and  the  country  east  of  the  Paraguay  and  Parana. 

They  possessed,  at  the  time  of  the  Spanish  invasion,  a  compar- 
ative civilization,  raising  corn,  rice,  and  many  vegetables ;  gather- 

*  Dobrizhoffjr. 


THE  GUANOS  AND  GUARANIS.  157 

ing  wild  honey  and  fruits,  distilling  a  liquor  which  became  popu- 
lar among  the  Spaniards,  and  cultivating  cotton,  from  which  they 
spun  and  wove  a  simple  covering  for  their  nakedness. 

Before  the  revolution,  parties  of  Guanos,  in  troops  of  fifty  and  a 
hundred,  descended  the  Paraguay  and  Parana,  going  even  to  Bue- 
nos Ayres,  where  they  hired  themselves,  for  a  limited  period,  to 
the  estancieros ;  always  choosing  to  work  by  the  task,  leaving  their 
arms  with  the  alcalde  on  entering  a  village  or  district,  and  claim- 
ing them  again  when  ready  to  return  to  the  Chaco.  The  descend- 
ants of  these  agricultural  Indians  still  go  forth  as  laborers  in  the 
Argentine  Confederation,  returning  at  stated  periods  to  their  wilds. 

The  Guarani  nation  not  only  possessed  a  large  part  of  the  coun- 
try now  known  as  Brazil  and  the  basin  of  La  Plata,  east  of  the  cen- 
tral rivers,  from  the  sixteenth  to  the  thirtieth  degree  of  latitude, 
but,  crossing  the  upper  waters  of  the  Paraguay,  they  even  penetra- 
ted west  to  the  province  of  Chiquitos,  where,  at  the  foot  of  the  An- 
des, numbers  of  them,  under  the  name  of  Chiriguanos,  were  found. 
They  acknowledged  no  one  head  or  chief,  but  were  divided  into 
numerous  small  tribes,  designated  by  the  name  of  its  cacique  or 
the  section  of  the  country  they  happened  to  occupy ;  recognizable, 
however,  not  only  by  general  characteristics,  but  by  their  language, 
precisely  the  same  throughout  the  tribes  of  their  nation,  however 
geographically  placed,  and  yet  entirely  different  from  all  others  of 
the  many  Indian  idioms  of  the  Southern  continent. 

With  a  knowledge  of  Guarani,  one  could  pass  through  the  ex- 
tent of  their  territory  ]  that  is,  travel  through  Brazil,  enter  Para- 
guay, descend  to  Buenos  Ayres,  and  journey  into  Peru,  without 
finding  such  changes  in  the  language  as  might  arise  from  local 
causes. 

But,  if  the  most  civilized  and  the  most  numerous  of  all  the  La 
Plata  nations,  so  were  they  the  most  easily  conquered,  for  warlike 
pursuits-  were  distasteful  to  them.  It  was  among  this  people  that 
the  Spaniards  formed  their  largest  commanderies,  the  Jesuits  their 
I  first  neophytes;  while  vast  numbers,  not  only  the  tribes  occupjdng 
Brazilian  territory,  but  those  of  the  "  reductions"  of  the  Jesuits, 
were  carried  off  by  the  Mamelucas. 

These  Indians  evinced  a  wonderful  obedience  and  docility  to  the 
instructions  of  the  Jesuits ;  became,  under  their  military  training, 
excellent  soldiers ;  and,  to  the  honor  of  the  Fathers — upon  whom, 
notwithstanding,  many  of  the  Spanish  writers  have  exhausted  the 
asperities  of  their  language — gave  evidence  of  such  submission  and 


168  THEIR  RELIGIOUS  OPINIONS. 

fidelity  to  the  Spanisli  monarcliy  that  they  participated  in  many 
of  their  wars,  both  against  foreign  and  domestic  foes,  contributing 
largely  to  their  victories,  and  saving  them  from  injury,  if  not  ex- 
tirpation, by  more  than  one  wide-spread  and  well-designed  Indian 
insurrection ;  services  which  were  noticed  in  1665  and  1666  by 
gracious  letters  from  the  "Catholic  king,"  still  preserved  in  the 
archives  of  Santa  Fe.  Amid  all  the  hmniliation  and  degradation 
of  this  aboriginal  nation,  one  great  triumph  awaited  it.  In  the 
western  parts  of  Brazil,  and  in  all  Paraguay,  their  language  was 
preserved,  indeed  substituted  for  that  of  the  conquerors,  and  is  to 
this  day  almost  exclusively  spoken  in  the  latter  country. 

Though  entertaining  rather  absurd  ideas  of  a  spiritual  existence, 
some  few  of  the  La  Plata  Indians  believed  in  the  immortality  of 
the  soul ;  and  we  have  seen  that  there  was  even  a  tradition,  the  ori- 
gin of  which  the  Spaniards  ascribed  to  the  Jesuits,  that  St.  Thomas 
had  labored  on  the  American  continent.  But  both  laymen  and 
Jesuits  unite  in  telling  us  that  among  many  tribes  they  discovered 
no  traces  of  a  knowledge  of  God.  The  contemplation  of  terrestrial 
or  celestial  objects  had  never  inspired  them  with  an  idea  of  a  cre- 
ative Deity,  Father  Penafiel  declares  that  many  Indians,  when 
questioned  as  to  whether  they  had  ever  thought  of  the  existence 
of  a  Supreme  Being,  replied,  "No,  never."  Dobrizhofifer,  who  com- 
pleted his  theological  course  in  the  University  of  Cordova,  says, 
"I  finished  the  four  years  of  theology  commenced  at  Gratz  in 
Styria,  and  defended  warmly  the  opinion  that  no  man  in  the  pos- 
session of  his  reason  can,  without  a  crime,  remain  ignorant  of  God 
for  any  length  of  time.  On  removing  thence  to  a  colony  of  Abi- 
pones,  I  found,  to  my  astonishment,  that  the  whole  language  of 
these  savages  did  not  contain  a  single  word  which  expresses  God 
or  Divinity."  And  yet  these  Abipones  watched  with  reverence 
the  appearance  and  disappearance  of  the  Pleiades,  as  the  repre- 
sentative of  the  common  ancestor  of  Spaniard  and  Indian,  the 
grandfather  Aharaigichi,  who  transmitted  gold  and  silver  to  the 
one  and  valor  to  the  other.  The  Guaranis  alone  had  a  word  for 
God,  "  J^pa" — Tu^  an  expression  of  admiration  ;  pa,  of  interro- 
gation. 

This  may  explain,  but  not  excuse,  the  extraordinary  prejudices 
and  inhumanities  of  the  conquerors  toward  the  indigenous  inhab- 
itants of  the  south,  whom  they  pretended  to  regard,  notwithstand- 
ing their  extraordinary  physical  beauty,  as  a  species  intermediate 
between  man  and  brute.     Such  an  opinion  was  not  only  obstinate- 


TREATMENT  BY  THE  SPANIARDS.  159 

ly  uj^held  by  laymen,  but  by  many  learned  and  respectable  eccle- 
siastics, wlio  passed  over  to  the  new  continent.  Thomas  Ortez, 
bishop  of  Saint  Martha,  addressed  an  elaborate  article  on  the  sub- 
ject to  the  Supreme  Council  of  Madrid,  stating  that  the  experi- 
ence derived  from  a  long  and  frequent  intercourse  with  the  In- 
dians led  him  to  regard  them  "  as  stupid  beings,  incapable  as  brute 
beasts  of  comprehending  our  religion  or  observing  its  precepts." 
We  know  how  able  an  apologist  and  defender  rose  up  in  the  per- 
son of  Bartolomeo  de  las  Casas,  who  declared  them  fully  capable 
of  understanding  all  the  truths  of  Christianity.  Other  ecclesias- 
tics considered  them  an  inferior  creation,  to  whom  could  be  ac- 
corded but  one  sacrament — baptism.  Las  Casas  boldly  alleged 
that  both  of  these  positions  were  assumed  only  as  an  excuse  for 
the  atrocities  exercised  against  the  aborigines  by  the  conquerors, 
and  obtained  in  1537  a  bull  from  Paul  III.,  declaring  them  human 
beings,  who  could  receive  all  the  sacraments  of  the  Church.  Pow- 
erful as  were  the  popes  of  the  sixteenth  century,  both  in  temporal 
and  spiritual  affairs,  they  could  not  vanquish  the  prejudice,  real 
or  pretended,  of  priests  and  laymen.  Elaborate  treatises  were 
written  to  prove  the  inferiority  of  the  Indian  race ;  and,  for  a  cen- 
tury after  the  conquest  of  Peru,  its  curates,  with  the  sanction  of 
their  bishops,  persisted  in  refusing  them  the  Eucharist,  upon  the 
pretext  of  incapacity  to  comprehend  the  great  mystery  of  the 
Church.  This  prejudice  vanished  only  with  time,  and  before  the 
authority  of  more  than  one  ecclesiastical  council,  assembled  in  the 
cities  of  Peru  and  La  Plata  to  decide  the  question.  The  poor 
Indian  obtained  one  advantage  by  this  doubt — exemption  from 
the  fearful  tribunals  of  the  Inquisition. 


160  RIO  APPA.— A  TAPIR. 


CHAPTER  X. 

Rio  Appa. — A  Tapir. — Diiferences  between  Brazil  and  Paraguay  as  to  the  Bounda- 
ries.— Letter  from  Mr.  Hudson. — Point  Rock. — Sierra  Siete  Punta. — Pan  do 
Azucar. — Ascent  of  the  Mountain. — The  View. — Speculations  on  the  Future  of 
this  Country. — Round  Top. — Fort  Bourbon. — Claims  of  Bolivia  and  Paraguay. 
— Bahia  Blanca. — Vuelta  Pariquito. — Capon  Chico. — A  Boa. — Dorado,  Pacii, 
and  Palometa. — Ascent  of  the  Bahia  Blanca. — Camelotas. — Suspending  of  the 
Bottle  to  a  Tree. — Proposition  of  Don  Manuel  Louis  de  Oliden. — Grant  by  the 
Congress  of  Bolivia. — Decree  of  the  Supreme  Government. — Importance  at- 
tached to  the  Navigation  of  the  Otuquis. — Extract  from  a  Pamphlet  by  Mauri- 
cio  Back. — Fort  Coimbra. — Flattering  Expressions  of  the  Commandante. — The 
Guaycurus. — Policy  of  Brazil  toward  the  Chaco  Indians. — The  Canoe. 

^^November  19/A,  1853.  Ancliored  off  the  mouth  of  the  Rio  Appa. 
known  to  the  early  Spanish  settlers  as  the  Corrientes,  but  changed 
to  its  present  name  by  the  Mbayas  when  they  overran  this  entire 
region.  It  rises  about  thirty  miles  in  the  interior  of  Paraguay,  in 
the  Cordillera  Amambay.  On  anchoring,  took  a  boat,  and,  accom- 
panied by  several  of  the  officers,  pulled  six  miles  up  this  river ; 
found  its  general  width  about  three  hundred  yards,  with  a  depth 
of  not  less  than  nine  feet;  banks  low.  We  were  prepared  to 
make  additions  to  our  collection  of  animals,  birds,  and  plants,  but 
met  with  no  great  success.  Not  a  bird  was  to  be  seen  of  which 
we  had  not  already  j^rocured  a  specimen.  The  plants  were  few, 
the  flora  consisting  principally  of  the  rich  clusters  of  a  variety  of 
creepers,  which,  by  their  varied  tinges,  gave  a  gay  relief  to  the  dark 
foliage  of  a  shrubby  growth  around  which  they  were  entwined. 

"  Saw  several  capibara  and  tapirs.  The  first  we  secured ;  the 
latter  escaped  us,  for  its  tough  skin  defied  a  volley  from  our  party 
that  would  have  brought  down  a  dozen  ordinary  animals.  We 
first  saw  it  swimming  across  the  river,  showing  only  its  head. 
One  pronounced  it  a  log,  another  a  tiger;  but,  soon  discovering  it 
to  be  a  strange  animal  never  before  seen,  every  gun  was  pointed, 
and  the  men  plied  their  oars  in  eager  pursuit.  It  was  impossible 
to  intercept  him  before  reaching  the  shore,  where  he  disappeared 
in  a  thicket.  We  beached  the  boat,  and  each  man,  with  his  gun, 
made  a  rush  to  the  nearest  point.  The  animal  was  tracked  for 
some  distance,  but  the  impenetrable  thorny  undergrowth  formed 
a  barrier  to  the  chase,  but  not  to  the  escape  of  the  tapir,  who  to  a 


DISPUTES  BETWEEN  BRAZIL  AND  PARAGUAY.  IQl 

tliick  skin  adds  fleetness  equal  to  that  of  the  horse,  and  strength 
which  enables  him  to  break  through  any  thicket,  however  matted, 
dense,  or  thorny." 

I  afterward  procured  one  alive,  which  was  shipped  for  home, 
but  he  died  on  the  passage.  We  found  two  varieties  of  wild 
fruit,  the  "  No  hace,"  about  the  size  of  a  large  plum,  growing  on 
a  lofty  tree,  and  the  "  Evepina,"  similar  in  appearance  to  a  cherry. 

The  Eio  Appa  has  been  considered  the  northern  boundary  be- 
tween Brazil  and  Paraguay  ;  at  least,  the  Imperial  Government  so 
regards  it ;  but  the  Paraguayans  protest  against  any  such  limita- 
tion of  their  territory,  and  claim  to  the  Bahia  Blanca.  This  ques- 
tion of  limits  has  been  for  years  one  of  diplomatic  discussion,  ne- 
gotiation, and  bad  feeling  between  the  two  countries,  and  has,  un- 
til very  recently,  excluded  Brazil  from  all  communication,  by  the 
lower  waters  of  the  Paraguay,  with  Matto  Grosso.  Paraguay,  by 
what  right  does  not  appear,  claims  both  banks  up  to  Bahia  Blan- 
ca, and,  as  a  consequence,  control  over  the  navigation  of  the  river ; 
the  very  course  the  Imperial  Government  has  pursued  toward  its 
hemmed-in  neighbors,  Peru  and  Bolivia. 

President  Lopez  perfectly  comprehends  the  importance  of  this 
highway  to  Brazil,  and  knows  that  it  presses  more  and  more  upon 
her  annually.  In  the  management  of  this  question  he  has  dis- 
played astuteness,  foresight,  and  accomplished  diplomacy ;  uni- 
formly quoting  to  the  Imperial  Government  its  own  policy  in 
closing  the  Amazon  and  its  confluents  to  the  northwestern  repub- 
lics. It  therefore  can  not  consistently  demur  to  the  exercise  of 
this  right  by  ajiother  power.  The  territory  in  dispute  would  be 
of  little  value  but  for  the  points  within  it  bordering  upon  the 
Paraguay,  which  are  important  as  military  positions,  for  they 
would  give  any  nation  holding  them  entire  control  over  that  riv- 
er. Imperial  guns  mounted  at  the  Pan  de  Azucar,  or  at  Olimpo 
(Fort  Bourbon),  might  well  occasion  uneasiness  to  Paraguay. 
They  would  not  only  command  her  frontier,  but  might  prove  the 
beginning  of  a  system  of  inclosure,  contracting  its  circle  until 
there  would  appear  an  impermm  in  imperio ;  not  a  "sick  man," 
who  must,  by  reason  of  his  infirmities,  be  put  aside,  but  a  weak 
child,  needing  for  its  safety  and  nurture  a  strong  protecting  arm. 
In  short,  Paraguay  would  be  absorbed  and  incorporated  as  an  in- 
tegral part  of  the  "  Empire  of  South  America."  On  one  ground 
alone  is  President  Lopez  willing  to  settle  this  question :  that  is,  to 
leave  the  territory  in  dispute  entirely  unoccupied  by  either  country. 

,       11 


162  ASPECT  OF  THE  COUNTRY. 

The  exploration  of  the  "Water  Witch"  demonstrated  the  prac- 
ticability of  sending  large  steamers  up  the  river,  beyond  the  lim- 
its of  Paraguay,  and  probably  induced  Brazil  in  1855  to  push  this 
question  to  an  issue.  It  was  then  that  she  sent  up  the  fleet  to 
which  I  have  alluded.  On  what  grounds  the  concession  was 
-  finally  made  I  have  not  learned,  but  it  has  been  granted,  as  I  am 
informed  by  letter  from  Mr.  Hudson,  our  consul  at  Buenos  Ayres.* 

"  November  19th.  A  very  remarkable  change  in  the  temperature 
has  taken  place  within  the  last  twenty-four  hours.  Yesterday, 
the  18th,  wind  north ;  at  3  P.M.  thermometer  stood  at  97°.  To- 
day at  same  hour  it  has  fallen  to  79°,  wind  W.S.W.,  and  at  mid- 
night to  68°,  wind  south.  Although  within  the  tropics,  and  ap- 
proaching the  mountainous  regions  of  Brazil  and  Bolivia,  we  ob- 
serve constantly  the  influence  of  south  winds  in  lowering  the 
temperature. 

"  The  country,  after  leaving  Eio  Appa,  to  Point  Eock,  a  distance 
of  about  fifty  miles,  is  on  both  sides  elevated  but  a  few  feet  above 
the  river,  and  has  the  usual  growth  of  palm  and  grass.  Point 
Rock,  an  isolated  granitic  hill,  or  mount,  is  on  the  left  bank,  and 
rises  to  the  height  of  ninety  feet,  throwing  out  a  rocky  ledge  half 
way  across  the  river,  and  forcing  the  channel  toward  the  west, 
where  it  forms  the  Paso  Taruma.  Upon  the  same  side  we  have 
had,  since  leaving  "Rio  Appa,"  a  distant  view  of  the  "Sierra  da 
Amarbay,"  which  stretches  south  about  thirty  miles  inland.  In 
tbe  Chaco,  the  horizon  is  bounded  by  the  Sierra  Siete  Puntas,  itf 
nearest  point  to  the  river  being  a  detached,  rounded,  and  wooded 
mount,  which  rises  <ibruptly  from  the  plain  in  latitude  21°  47' 
south. 

"  After  leaving  Point  Rock  the  face  of  the  country  again  changes ; 
we  have  no  longer  the  monotony  of  flat  plains,  but  the  most  divers- 
ified and  picturesque  landscapes.  On  the  east  are  many  isolated 
mountains,  some  rising  directly  from  the  river  banks,  others  at  a 
distance  in  the  interior,  all  overtopped  by  the  giant  Pan  deAzucar, 
a  conical  volcanic  peak  1350  feet  high.  The  river  is  now  divided 
by  a  wooded  island  which  rises  about  eighty  feet  above  the  water- 
level.  •  We  passed  through  the  west  branch,  which  has  a  width  of 

*  ^^  January  27th,  1857.  A  steamer  Cor9a,  from  Rio,  has  gone  up  to  Matto  Gros- 
so,  towing  three  vessels  with  cargoes.  Lopez,  in  spite  of  his  treaty  with  Brazil,  is 
throwing  every  impediment  in  their  way.  The  first  cargo — the  Madrugas — that  went 
up  to  Matto  Grosso  paid  four  hundred  per  cent,  profit.  Salt  sold  for  twenty-two 
silver  dollars  the  fanega — three  and  a  half  bushels." 


ASCENT  OF  PAN  DE  AZUCAR. 


163 


PAN    DE   AZUCAR. 


one  hundred  and  fifty  feet,  depth  seventy,  and  anchored  one  mile 
above,  having  Pan  de  Azucar  east  of  the  anchorage.  These  de- 
tached, rounded  elevations  to  which  I  allude  are  all  on  the  east. 
The  monotony  of  the  west  plain  is  unbroken  but  by  a  solitary 
mountain,  rising  directly  from  the  bank  of  the  river,  as  if  detached 
by  a  convulsion  of  nature  from  its  opposite  neighbor." 

Koremher  21s^,  5  o'clock  A.M.  Accompanied  by  Lieutenant 
Powell,  Dr.  Carter,  and  the  pilot  Bernardino,  I  started  for  the  as- 
cent of  Pan  de  Azucar.  After  wading  for  about  a  mile  and  a  half 
through  a  sea  of  grass,  we  reached  the  foot  of  the  mountain,  and 
commenced  the  ascent.  Making  our  way  over  volcanic  rocks  pro- 
truding beyond  a  shrubby  growth,  and  at  times  through  closely 
matted  and  almost  impenetrable  masses  of  vegetation,  we  had  ad- 
vanced about  two  thirds  of  the  distance,  when  the  doctor  and  pilot 
gave  out,  and  decided  to  remain  and  keep  each  other  company. 
Spoiled  in  a  cruise  of  several  months,  where  we  had  only  to  "  dip 
alongside"  for  the  luxury  of  fresh  water,  not  one  of  us  had  thought 
of  bringing  a  single  bottle  of  the  essential  element.  Thirst  was 
excessive;  but  we  continued  the  ascent,  and  by  8  o'clock  A.M.  Mr. 
Powell  and  myself  were  «tanding  upon  the  rounded  summit,  where 


164  VIEW  FROM  THE  MOUNTAIN. 

a  stunted  and  scattering  growth  offered  no  obstacle  to  a  clear  and 
uninterrupted  view  of  the  country  in  every  direction. 

The  day,  fortunately  for  us,  was  not  intensely  hot.  At  8  A.M. 
thermometer  stood  at  79°.  The  wind  was  then  south ;  it  had  been 
prevailmg  during  the  last  two  days  from  southeast  and  southwest, 
within  which  time  the  lowest  tem|)erature  was  65°,  on  the  20th  at 
6  A.M.,  and  the  highest  79° ;  a  remarkable  change  from  the  read- 
ing of  the  19th,  which  gave  as  a  minimum  and  maximum  84°  and 
97°.  We  obtained  a  reading  of  the  barometer,  which,  in  connec- 
tion with  simultaneous  observations  made  on  board  ship,  gave  the 
height  of  the  mountain  at  thirteen  hundred  and  fifty  feet  above 
the  river.  According  to  our  observations,  it  is  in  latitude  21°  25' 
10",  longitude  57°  55'  54"  west,  three  quarters  of  a  mile  from  the 
river  on  the  east  bank,  sixty-three  from  the  Eio  Appa,  and  three 
hundred  and  ninety  miles  from  Asuncion. 

On  all  sides  below  us  was  a  grassy  palm-plain,  relieved  here 
and  there  by  dark  belts  of  forest,  and  by  insulated  mountains  or 
hills,  some  peaked,  others  rounded,  some  rising  precipitously  for 
several  hundred  feet,  others  sloping  gracefully  to  the  plain.  The 
southern  horizon  was  bounded  by  the  wavy  undulations  of  the 
Cordillera  de  Amarbay  and  the  sharp  outlines  of  the  SietePuntas 
— Seven  Peaks,  In  the  Chaco,  far  away  to  the  north,  was  the  Te- 
cho  da  Morro. 

There  were  no  estancias  in  view,  with  their  sleek  herds,  no  or- 
ange groves,  no  green  promise,  no  golden  tints  of  ripening  or  ma- 
tured cereals ;  not  a  habitation  or  sign  of  civilized  or  savage  life. 
The  solitude  would  have  been  oppressive  but  for  the  beauty  of 
the  face  of  the  country,  and  the  exhilaration  caused  by  the  deli- 
cious atmosphere,  tempered  by  southern  breezes. 

May  I  be  excused  if,  under  its  influence,  or  an  imperious  in- 
stinct of  our  nature — American  nature — I  found  myself  speculat- 
ing upon  the  future  of  these  favored  regions ;  a  great  predestined 
future,  none  could  doubt,  who  for  many  months  had  voyaged 
through  such  a  valley  ofbeauty,  presenting,  with  the  exception 
of  that  of  our  Mississippi,  tlie  fairest  unbroken  extent  of  cultiva- 
ble land  in  the  world.  Is  this  wealth  of  creation  to  remain  una- 
vailable for  the  comfort  and  happiness  of  men,  while  the  powers 
holding  dominion  over  it  invite  immigration,  and  the  over-crowd- 
ed cities  of  Europe  teem  with  millions  whose  cry  is  bread  ?  When 
the  dungeons  of  Southern  Italy  re-echo  the  sighs  of  men  who  have 
dared  to  aspire  to  political  independence?  and  while  the  indus- 


THE  FUTURE  OF  LA  PLATA.  Ig5 

trial  nations  are  seeking  new  sources  of  supply  in  raw  material 
and  new  outlets  for  their  manufactures  ?  and  while,  even  in  Con- 
stitutional England,  in  underground  dens,  or  within  the  shadow 
of  palatial  precincts,  are  hid,  not  sheltered,  men,  women,  and  chil- 
dren, crushed,  not  by  vice,  but  a  poverty  that  generates  crime? 
Emigrants  to  the  valley  of  La  Plata  may  reach  their  homes  in 
ocean  steamers.  No  barren  wildernesses  are  to  be  traversed. 
No  lono-  winters  or  autumnal  exhalations  are  to  be  feared.    There 

O 

is  much  to  allure,  nothing  to  repel.  No  warring,  as  in  the  valley 
of  the  Amazon  and  Orinoco,  with  Indian,  beast,  and  reptile,  and, 
above  all,  with  the  great  dragon,  tropical  miasma,  which  the  mind 
and  strength  of  the  white  race  are  impotent  to  conquer.  If  Bo- 
livia, Paraguay,  the  States  of  the  Argentine  Confederation,  and  of 
Buenos  Ayres,  would  unite  and  form,  for  great  purposes,  a  com- 
munity of  nations,  neither  filibustering  hosts  nor  imperial  armies 
or  fleets  could  be  feared.  Under  the  segis  of  a  liberal  Constitution, 
which  would  reject  all  bigoted  exclusiveness  of  political  or  relig- 
ious doctrine,  added  to  the  facilities  which  climate  and  soil  offer  to 
new  populations — above  all,  to  cultivators  and  artisans — the  face 
of  these  wilds  would  be  transfigured  into  prosperous  states,  the 
parts  of  a  South  American  Eepublic,  which  would  advance  to  a 
zenith  of  unprecedented  power.  Spanish  galleons,  freighted  with 
the  "fifths"  of  majesty;  the  ships  of  Portugal  and  Great  Britain, 
laden  with  the  profits  of  illegal  trade,  will  never  again  sail  from 
La  Plata.  But  the  steamers  of  maritime  nations,  bearing  the  prod- 
ucts of  industrial  power,  will  cover  her  interior  water-courses,  and, 
in  return,  pour  into  the  lap  of  those  nations  the  indigenous  agri- 
cultural and  mineral  wealth  of  the  Western  Indies.  No  over- 
throw of  existent  governments,  no  political  revulsions  are  neces- 
sary to  place  the  inhabitants  of  these  regions  under  the  beneficent 
influences  of  a  great  republican  civilization. 

But  my  dreams  and  speculations  were  at  an  end  as  we  went 
pitching  down  the  steep,  in  many  places  precipitous  sides  of  the 
mountain,  here  catching  at  a  shrub,  there  resting  against  a  rock. 
The  descent  proved  far  more  difficult  than  the  ascent  had  been. 
We  found  the  doctor  and  Bernardino  where  we  had  left  them. 
The  former,  oppressed  with  drowsiness,  had  kept  awake,  not  rel- 
ishing the  idea  of  being  caught  napping  by  a  jaguar,  while  the 
pilot  philosophically  refreshed  himself  with  a  long  sleep.  At  last 
we  reached  the  river,  and  relieved  our  thirst  and  fatigue  by  rush- 
ing into  its  waters. 


166  FORT  BOURBON. 

We  returned  with  some  additions  to  our  ornithologic  collection 
— a  few  birds  not  before  seen,  among  them  a  toucan ;  also  some 
fruit  of  the  '■'■yatay  giiazii,^^  a  palm  not  found  south  of  the  Pan  de 
Azucar,  and  differing  somewhat  from  the  trees  of  that  family 
growing  so  extensively  on  the  plains,  being  less  lofty,  and  the 
trunk  of  greater  diameter. 

The  width  of  the  river  at  our  anchorage  off  Pan  de  Azucar  was 
about  one  third  of  a  mile ;  temperature  of  water  84°.  From  Sal- 
vador, the  general  width  is  from  a  quarter  to  one  third  of  a  mile. 
Least  depth  since  passing  the  Malo  Paso,  eighteen  feet ;  greatest, 
ninety  feet  of  line,  and  no  bottom. 

"  November  22d.  The  character  of  the  river,  height  of  banks, 
and  their  growth,  have  varied  but  little  to  Olimpo,  or  Fort  Bour- 
bon, thirty-three  miles  from  Pan  de  Azucar.  Two  miles  above 
our  last  anchorage,  near  the  mountain  in  view  from  the  Chaco 
side,  and  distant  about  three  miles  from  the  river,  was  Pound 
Top — TecJ/o  da  Morro  ;  opposite  were  a  few  detached  hills.  With 
these  exceptions  the  country  is  low,  with  palms  and  grass.  Here 
and  there,  where  the  banks  are  slightly  elevated,  are  patches,  but 
no  extended  reaches  of  good  timber.  Twenty-four  miles  above  the 
mount,  half  concealed  by  a  small  island  on  the  west  bank,  which 
rises  twelve  feet  above  the  water,  we  saw  on  the  east  a  toldo  or 
wigwam,  but  no  Indians — a  good  position  whence  to  escape  to 
the  Chaco  if  molested  by  Paraguayans;  of  this,  however,  they 
could  have  but  little  apprehension,  as  no  force  has  yet  ventured 
such  a  distance — ninety-three  miles  from  a  frontier  guardia.  The 
range  of  the  Sierra  Olimpo,  as  here  represented,  is  seen  at  the 
distance  of  two  miles,  bearing  north  by  west  in  the  Chaco.  Upon 
its  northern  extremity,  which  slopes  to  the  river,  stands  Fort 
Bourbon,  according  to  our  observations  in  latitude  21°  01'  39", 
longitude  57°  55'  40",  and  variation  1°  east.  Passing  half  a  mile 
above,  we  anchored  with  the  fort  bearing  S.  5°  E." 

Soon  after  coming  to  anchor  we  visited  the  now  abandoned 
fort.  It  stands  on  the  lowest  point  of  the  Olimpo  range,  not  more 
than  forty-five  feet  above  the  river,  here  one  third  of  a  mile  in 
width,  and  forms  a  square  of  one  hundred  feet,  having  at  each 
angle  bastions,  which  alone  were  intended  for  guns,  as  the  walls, 
fourteen  feet  high,  and  two  and  a  half  in  thickness,  are  without 
embrasures.  It  is  built  of  a  sandstone  found  in  the  neighboring- 
sierras,  and  its  position  is  admirably  chosen  for  commanding  the 
channel,  of  the  river ;  but  it  is  commanded,  in  turn,  by  the  heights 


DISPUTED  JUKISDICTION.  169 

in  its  vicinity.  It  was  constructed  in  1798  by  order  of  Charles 
III.  of  Spain,  as  a  barrier  against  the  encroachments  of  the  Por- 
tuguese of  Matto  Grosso  and  the  hostihties  of  Chaco  Indians.  In 
1822  it  was  garrisoned  by  order  of  Francia ; '  was  abandoned  by 
President  Lopez  in  1850 ;  but  was  reoccupied  by  Paraguay  after 
the  opening  of  the  river  to  Brazilian  vessels  in  1856. 

Upon  the  sierra,  immediately  adjoining  the  fort,  is  an  enormous 
corral,  encircled  by  a  wall  six  feet  high,  in  good  preservation, 
which  was  formerly  used  to  protect  the  cattle  of  the  fort  from  In- 
dian depredation. 

Fort  Olimpo,  with  the  adjacent  country,  is  claimed  by  Bolivia, 
on  grounds  apparently  more  tenable  than  those  upon  which  are 
based  the  rights  of  Paraguay.  By  a  decree  of  the  government  in 
1852,  it  was  made  one  of  three  free  ports  of  entry,  to  which  they 
invited  the  flags  of  all  nations,  offering  a  prize  of  ten  thousand 
•  dollars  to  the  first  commercial  expedition  that  might  enter  either 
one  of  them. 

President  Lopez  considered  this  step  as  an  insult  to  Paraguay, 
and  an  attempted  infraction  of  her  territorial  rights,  but  proceeded 
to  no  active  measures  for  setting  it  aside,  trusting  to  the  distance 
of  Olimpo  from  the  populous  provinces  of  Bolivia,  and  the  in- 
ability of  that  republic  to  support  here  a  garrison  adequate  to  the 
enforcement  of  her  decree.  Again,  there  are  other  claimants — 
the  caciques  of  the  warlike  Chaco  tribes.  Their  claim  is  based 
on  priority  of  title  and  present  occupation ;  for,  with  the  excep- 
tion of  this  fort  and  a  few  dilapidated  huts,  the  former  quarters  of 
officers,  there  is  nowhere  around  or  in  its  vicinage,  for  many  miles, 
a  vestige  of  occupation  by  the  white  race.  It  stands  as  isolated 
from  all  civilization  as  a  desert  island  of  the  ocean,  far  from  a  hab- 
itable coast. 

The  Sierra  Olimpo  is  covered  with  noble  timber,  and  affords 
fuel  of  excellent  quality  for  steam,  which  we  can  readily  believe 
to  be  one  of  the  predestined  agents  for  the  development  of  this 
country.  '  I  have  constantly  alluded  to  the  vast  palm  plains,  but, 
since  entering  the  Paraguay,  we  have  never  run  a  single  day 
without  passing  broad  forests,  or  points  sufficiently  wooded  to 
furnish  material  for  all  the  purposes  of  navigation.  I  was  aston- 
ished to  find  within  the  walls  of  the  fort,  which  had  been  aban- 
doned for  more  than  three  years,  a  cotton  plant,  growing  with 
vigor,  blooming  and  bearing  matured  cotton  of  the  finest  quality. 

Five  miles  from  Olimpo  we  reached  Bahia  Blanca — "White 


170  SALT  LAKE. 

Bay,"  into  whicli  empties  tlie  Eio  Blanco,  an  insignificant  stream. 
This  point  is  only  important  from  being  claimed  by  Paraguay  as 
her  northern  boundary.  All  the  territory  beyond,  on  the  east,  is 
owned,  without  question  from  neighboring  powers,  by  Brazil,  and 
on  the  west  by  Bolivia  and  Brazil;  and,  though  no  limits  are 
clearly  assigned  to  imperial  jDOSsession  south,  or  to  Paraguay 
north,  they  are  probably  inclined  to  leave  Bolivia  a  small  outlet 
by  which  to  reach  the  great  central  highway  through  the  Eiver 
Otuquis,  which  flows  into  the  Bahia  Negra,  and  thus  connects 
with  the  Paraguay.  A  short  distance  beyond  the  fort,  the  coun- 
try bordering  the  river  on  both  sides  assumes  a  remarkable 
change.  So  far  as  the  eye  can  reach,  there  is  a  sea  of  vigorous 
grass,  with  no  trees,  save  here  and  there  a  cluster  of  willows  and 
alders.  The  grass  encroaches  upon  the  river,  apparently  floating 
upon  the  water,  where  the  banks  are  not  precipitous,  and  there  is 
little  or  no  current. 

At  the  Vuelta  Pariqueti,  forty-eight  miles  from  Olimpo,  the 
lands  adjacent  to  the  river  on  the  right  bank  again  are  elevated, 
and  skirted  by  a  noble  growth  of  lapacho,  nandubay,  and  al- 
garroba.  The  left  side  continues  low  and  marshy  for  a  mile  or 
two  beyond,  where  it  is  broken  by  a  riacho,  the  banks  of  which 
for  some  distance  are  well  timbered ;  an  evidence  generally,  if  not 
uniformly,  of  land  exempt  from  periodical  inundations.  The  riv- 
er from  Olimpo  to  this  point  is  tortuous,  embracing,  by  its  course, 
sixty-two  geographical  miles,  with  a  difference  in  latitude  of  only 
twenty-five,  and  ten  in  longitude. 

We  anchored  off  Lake  Salinas,  latitude  20°  86'  24''  south.  It 
is  a  lagoon,  which  at  the  dry  season  becomes  a  saline  flat.  A  few 
huts  stand  upon  the  edges  of  the  lagoon,  and  are  occupied  during 
the  "  season"  by  Brazilians  from  Albuquerque,  Corumba,  and  even 
Cuyaba.  Salt  is  one  of  the  requirements  of  northwestern  Brazil 
not  found  in  the  country,  and  large  parties,  in  long  canoes,  come  to 
these  Salinas  from  Cuyaba,  the  capital  of  Matto  Grosso,  a  distance 
of  five  hundred  miles,  and  return  with  deeply -laden  boats  against 
a  current  of  two  miles  the  hour.  This  is  the  principal  source 
from  which  a  supply  is  obtained,  and,  as  may  be  well  understood, 
it  is  of  indifferent  quality.  Under  the  effects  of  solar  evaporation, 
the  efflorescence  is  so  abundant  that  no  inconsiderable  quantity  is 
obtained  from  the  surface.  The  profits  of  a  trade  in  this  one  ar- 
ticle may  be  estimated  from  its  scarcity.* 

*  See  the  letter  quoted  from  Mr.  Hudson,  p.  162. 


BAHIA  NEGRA.— FISHING.  171 

^^November  24/A,  6  o'clock  A.M.,  temperature  of  air,  88°  ;  water, 
86° ;  wind  north.  Past  night  oppressively  hot  in  cabin ;  tempera- 
ture throughout  the  night,  82°  ;  on  deck,  81°.  Calm  on  the  pre- 
ceding day ;  on  the  23d,  temperature  76°  at  6  A.M ;  93°  at  3  P.M. 

"  November  26ih.  Have  this  day  steamed  from  the  saline  lagoons 
forty-eight  miles.  Found  little  change  in  the  physical  features 
of  the  river  or  adjacent  countrj^  Northern  borders  of  the  salinas 
are  covered  with  firm  timber,  and  twenty  miles  above  it,  at  Capon 
Chico,  the  Chaco  side  is  well  wooded.  Fourteen  miles  bevond 
this,  on  the  same  side,  a  forest  of  quebracho.  Anchored  off  the 
mouth  of  the  Bahia  Negra.  The  appearance  of  this  'bahia'  is 
that  of  a  river,  and  I  have  determined  to  explore  it.  The  color  of 
the  water,  and  its  current,  satisfied  me  tliat  what  we  saw  was  not 
the  discharge  of  a  bay,  formed  by  the  backing  up  of  the  waters  of 
the  Paraguay  during  the  season  of  inundation,  but  of  a  tributary, 
and  one  of  great  interest,  as  flowing  from  the  west,  through  which 
might  be  opened  a  communication  with  the  eastern  borders  of 
Bolivia. 

"  We  caught  in  the  river  near  our  anchorage  a  boa  seven  feet 
in  length.  Found  some  difficulty  in  putting  the  huge  reptile  alive 
into  alcohol  without  injuring  it,  as  a  specimen." 

On  approaching  the  entrance  of  Bahia  Negra,  we  were  aston- 
ished at  the  number  of  fish,  apparently  myriads.  We  anchored 
at  the  confluence  of  the  two  waters,  to  give  the  officers  and  men  a 
little  sport,  and  an  opportunity  to  obtain  food  and  specimens.  I 
have  caught  the  Red  Snapper  and  Grooper  on  the  coasts  of  Flor- 
ida and  Mexico,  where  one  might  haul  in  the  sluggish,  inactive 
fish  as  lazily  as  an  "  old  soldier  of  a  tar"  would  take  in  the  "  slack 
of  a  rope,"  but  I  have  never  witnessed  fishing  such  as  this,  at  the 
confluence  of  the  Bahia  Negra  and  Paraguay.  In  an  incredibly 
short  time,  hooks  baited  with  pork  were  floating  by  dozens  astern ; 
and  scarcely  had  they  touched  the  water,  when  hundreds  offish 
would  spring  eagerly  at  each  bait.  Dorado,  Pacu,  and  Palometa 
(all  delicious  for  the  table)  were  among  the  varieties  caught.  The 
Dqrado,  so  called  from  its  golden  color,  is  from  two  to  three  feet  in 
length,  and  weighs  from  eighteen  to  twenty-four  pounds ;  its  flesh  is 
white  and  solid.  The  strength  of  this  fish  is  wonderful.  When 
hauled  in,  it  would  spring  into  the  air  some  fifteen  or  twenty 
feet,  not  unfrequently  detaching  itself,  or  severing  the  hook  from 
the  line,  and  looking,  as  it  darted  upward,  like  a  huge  golden  vessel 
incrusted  with  gems.     The  Pacu  is  of  a  dark  grayish  color;  its 


172  ASCENT  OF  THE  EIO  NEGRO. 

breadtli  is  about  two  thirds  its  length,  and  the  largest  caught 
weighed  twenty-two  pounds.  The  Palometa  is  of  very  much  the 
same  form  as  the  Pacu,  though  not  so  large ;  in  color,  a  light 
gray,  with  yellow  belly.  This  latter  is  more  formidable  to  swim- 
mers than  any  other  inhabitant  of  the  La  Plata  waters.  Each  of 
its  jaws  is  armed  with  a  row  of  triangular  teeth,  which  cut  like 
the  sharpest  knife. 

We  have  uniformly  noticed  a  great  gathering  offish  at  the  con- 
fluence of  the  tributaries  with  the  central  waters :  this  is  doubtless 
owing  to  the  quantity  of  young  ones  brought  down  by  the  small- 
er streams. 

'•'•  Novemiher  loth.  Ascending  the  Bahia,  or  Rio  Negro.  I  call  it 
a  river,  because,  until  lost  in  a  sea  of  grass,  it  has  every  appear- 
ance and  characteristic  of  one. 

"  After  proceeding  twenty-five  miles,  the  crank  strap  broke  for 
the  fourth  time  since  leaving  Asuncion.  Anchored  in  fourteen  feet 
water.  Banks  low,  covered  with  a  scattered  and  inferior  growth 
of  trees ;  grass  vigorous  and  green ;  width  of  river  at  anchorage, 
six  hundred  yards ;  temperature  of  air  at  six  P.M.,  92° ;  water, 
85°  ;  wind  N.B.  Greatest  depth  since  entering  this  water,  thirty 
feet;  least,  twelve.  Position  of  anchorage  on  the  night  of  the 
26th,  latitude  19°  52'  42"  south,  longitude  58°  16'  84"  west. 

"  To  the  northeast,  mountains  of  Coimbra  and  Albuquerque ;  in 
every  other  direction,  grass  and  water  as  boundless  as  the  ocean. 
Horizon  so  clearly  defined  that  the  altitude  of  a  heavenly  body 
might  be  taken  during  the  day  with  the  same  accuracy  as  by  ob- 
servation made  with  a  sea  horizon. 

"  November  21th.  Under  way  at  an  early  hour.  The  river  con- 
tracted rapidly  in  width,  so  much  so  as  to  make  it  difficult  to 
round  the  points  without  running  the  bows  of  the  steamer  into 
the  grass.  Continued  to  advance  for  two  hours,  when  the  channel 
was  so  narrowed  by  grass  that  both  wheels  were  in  it,  and  yet  we 
had  a  depth  of  twelve  feet  water.  Anchored  and  took  to  a  boat, 
determined,  if  possible,  to  see  whither  the  stream  would  lead  or 
from  whence  it  came.  Ascended  six  miles  above  the  position  of 
the  Water  Witch.  Here  the  river  was  entirely  closed  by  came- 
lotes  and  grass,  and  yet  we  still  had  nine  feet  water.  A  solitary 
dwarfed  tree,  of  the  mimosa  family,  was  standing  six  feet  above 
the  water  level,  where  its  depth  was  five  feet. 

"We  suspended  to  one  of  its  branches  a  bottle  by  copper  wire; 
it  contained  the  name  of  the  steamer,  her  position,  and  names  of 


A  SEA  OF  GRASS.  173 

officers.  "We  had  still  to  the  east  the  blue  outlines  of  the  Brazil- 
ian mountains,  the  nearest,  in  a  right  line,  distant  twenty -two  miles. 
Northwest,  the  direction  whence  I  supposed  this  river  to  flow, 
grass,  water,  and  sky.  We  pulled  up  some  of  this  grass;  it  meas- 
ured in  length  twelve  feet,  and  from  a  quarter  to  half  an  inch  in 
diameter.  -The  point  reached  was  in  latitude  19°  50'  53"  south, 
longitude  58°  15'  29"  west,  thirty-one  miles  from  its  confluence 
with  the  Paraguay ;  general  direction  thus  far,  north.  The  dis- 
tance in  a  right  line  between  these  two  points,  it  will  be  seen,  is 
about  twent}^  miles.  Temperature,  maximum  meridian,  95°,  wind 
N.N.E. ;  at  3  P.M.,  94°,  wind  N.N.W. ;  minimum,  at  3  A.M.,  80° ; 
water  at  meridian,  88|-°. 

"It  is  with  deep  regret  that  I  am  obliged  to  leave  this  ' Bahia' 
without  having  satisfied  myself  whence  come  its  waters.  I  am 
convinced  that  it  is  not  the  backing  up  of  the  Paraguay,  The 
current  forbids  that  idea,  and  the  color,  even  at  its  junction,  is  in 
strange  contrast  with  that  of  the  latter.  Between  the  seasons  of 
high  nnd  low  water  I  can  not  believe  that  the  waters  of  the  Para- 
guay could  back  into  this  bay,  deposit  detritus,  and  receive  a  color 
unvarying  from  its  mouth  to  the  jDoint  of  ascent,  black,  and  yet,  in 
a  glass,  perfectly  limpid,  more  so  than  the  water  of  the  Parana, 
while  that  of  the  Paraguay  is  uniformly  turbid.  This  alone  would 
convince  me  that  it  flows  from  the  high  lands  of  Bolivia,  and  may 
be  a  na\ngable  stream  into  the  interior  of  that  country.  If  this 
fact  could  be  established,  it  would  prove  of  inestimable  value,  not 
only  to  the  mediterranean  state,  but  to  the  whole  civilized  world. 
So  far  as  my  observation  enables  me  to  judge,  I  perceive  no  insur- 
mountable obstacle  to  the  navisration  of  this  river.  I  am  convinced 
that  a  steamer  properly  constructed  could  skim  over  or  cut  through 
this  sea  of  grass." 

We  retraced  our  steps,  after  some  difficulty  in  getting  the  steam- 
er's bows  down  stream.  She  was  at  last  pointed  in  the  right  direc- 
tion, and  cutting  through  the  grass  which  surrounded  her,  first  on 
one  side,  then  on  the  other,  we  descended,  and  again  entered  the 
Paraguay.  Before  leaving  the  Bahia,  observed  a  noble  deer  on 
the  left  bank :  it  stood  for  a  minute  perfectly  still,  as  if  paralyzed 
by  the  appearance  of  the  Water  Witch.  We  thought  ourselves 
sure  of  a  fine  specimen,  but,  before  we  had  gotten  within  gunshot 
distance,  with  one  bound  it  cleared  the  bushes  that  skirted  the  bank, 
and  was  in  an  instant  hid  from  view  in  a  neighboring  thicket. 

From  the  following  extracts  may  be  gathered  the  importance  at 


174  NAVIGATION  OF  THE  OTUQUIS. 

one  time  attaclied  to  a  navigable  outlet  from  that  part  of  Bolivia 
througli  which  the  Otuquis  flows,  and  the  measures  taken  to  es- 
tablish it. 

Senor  Don  Manuel  Luis  de  Oliden  made  a  proposition  to  the 
Congress  of  Bolivia  to  open  the  n:s,vigation  of  the  Eiver  Otuquis 
to  its  confluence  with  the  Paraguay,  in  consideration  of  which  the 
Congress  passed  the  following  act  on  the  5th  November,  1832  : 

"The  Executive  will  grant  to  Citizen  Manuel  Luis  de  Oliden  such  aids 
as  it  may  think  proper,  in  order  to  enable  him  to  establish  a  port  at  the 
confluence  of  the  rivers  Otuquis,  Tucabaca,  and  Latiriquiqui,  or  at  such  point 
as  may  be  most  suitable,  in  order  to  open  the  navigation  of  these  into  the 
River  Paraguay,  conceding-,  in  addition,  those  privileges  which  are  due  to 
him  as  the  originator  of  this  entei-prise. 

(Signed),  "I.  EUSTAQUIO  EQUIBAR,  President. 

"DIONISIO  BASSIENTOS,  Secretary." 

This  was  followed  by  the  subjoined  decree  of  the  "Supreme 
Government,"  issued  on  the  17th  November,  1832  : 

"  Tlie  government  being  authorized  by  the  foregoing  act  of  Congress  of 
November  5th,  1832,  to  grant  to  Citizen  Manuel  Luis  de  Oliden  such  aids 
as  it  may  think  proper,  in  order  to  enable  him  to  establish  a  port  at  the  con- 
fluence of  the  Rivers  Tucabaca,  Otuquis,  and  Latiriquiqui,  in  the  province  of 
Chiquitos,  and  to  accord  to  him  such  privileges  as  he  may  be  entitled  to  ;  and, 
the  said  Manuel  Luis  de  Oliden,  having  bound  himself  to  the  accomplish- 
ment of  this  undertaking  in  the  terms  of  the  following  articles,  concedes  to 
him  privileges,  immunities,  and  guaranties  in  the  following  terms,  viz. : 

"Art.  1.  There  is  granted  to  Citizen  Manuel  Luis  de  Oliden,  from  the 
point  he  may  select  at  which  to  establish  a  port  on  the  River  Otuquis,  south 
of  the  province  of  Chiquitos,  twenty-five  leagues  of  ten-itory,  in  every  direc- 
tion, for  himself  and  his  heirs. 

"  Art.  2.  The  port  he  may  establish  shall  be  his  property  for  the  term 
of  fifty  years,  at  the  expiration  of  which  time  it  shall  revert  to  the  '  nacion.' 

"  Art.  3.  All  the  foreign  goods  and  products  introduced  through  this  port 
during  the  above-mentioned  fifty  years  shall  pay  not  more  than  five  per 
cent,  duty,  which  shall  be  collected  at  the  points  where  the  articles  are  con- 
sumed, under  appraisements  according  to  the  tariff"  of  the  republic. 

"  Art.  4.  During  the  aforesaid  term  of  fifty  years,  the  government  will 
not  appoint  any  ofiicer  or  employe ;  and  those  that  may  be  necessary  will 
be  appointed  and  paid  by  the  contractor.  Nevertheless,  should  the  govern- 
ment deem  it  advisable  to  make  any  appointments,  it  may  make  only  such 
as  shall  be  deemed  necessary  to  facilitate  the  collection  of  the  duties  on  ar- 
ticles introduced  into  the  interior  of  the  republic,  and  these  shall  be  paid  by 
the  government. 


THE  OLIDEN  GRANT.  175 

"Art.  5.  This  establishment  shall  be  governed  by  the  Constitution  and 
laws  of  the  republic. 

"  Art.  6.  The  privileges  and  grants  which  the  government  concedes  and 
guarantees  to  Manuel  Luis  de  Oliden  and  his  successors  may  be  transferred 
to  and  enjoyed  by  such  persons  to  whom  he  may  convey  his  right  of  proper- 
ty, under  the  same  conditions  as  set  forth  in  this  decree. 

"Art.  7.  This  establishment  will  be  under  the  authority  and  protection 
of  the  Supreme  Government,  with  which  the  contractor  (el  empresario)  will 
communicate  through  the  minister  of  the  interior. 

"  Art.  8.  If,  at  the  end  of  four  years  from  this  date,  this  establishment 
and  the  opening  of  navigation  be  not  made,  although  it  may  not  be  in  oper- 
ation, this  decree  shall  be  null  and  void." 

Copies  of  the  papers  from  which  these  extracts  have  been  made 
were  sent  to  me  after  the  publication  of  my  Synoptical  Report  to 
the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  on  the  La  Plata  Expedition.  I. was 
not  before  aware  how  great  an  interest  was  felt  in  estabhshing  the 
navigability  of  the  Otuquis,  and  its  connection  with  the  Paraguay. 
An  intelligent  and  highly  respectable  Englishman,  who  had  for 
many  years  resided  in  Buenos  Ayres,  was  at  that  time  in  London 
to  establish  a  company  for  the  settlement  of  the  "Oliden  Grant." 
I  have  since  been  gratified  by  receiving  letters  from  England  and 
France  stating  that  my  allusion  to  the  possibility  of  opening  a 
water  communication  from  the  Paraguay  to  Bolivia  had  inspired 
many  with  such  confidence  that  a  colonization  company  was 
forming  for  that  republic. 

The  decree  of  Congress,  followed  by  the  executive  proclama- 
tion, will  explain  the  terms  of  agreement  between  Mr.  Oliden  and 
the  government  of  Bolivia.  Chiquitos  is  described  as  being  the 
richest  of  her  provinces.  It  was  the  scene  of  the  labors  of  the 
Jesuits,  and  the  seat  of  some  of  the  most  celebrated  missions  of 
that  order.  D'Orbigny  speaks  of  it  as  "  abounding  in  Nature's 
gifts." 

The  Oliden  Grrant  in  this  province,  between  the  parallels  of 
17°  45'  and  20°  15' south,  is  bounded  on  the  east  by  the  Paraguay 
River,  and  extends  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles  west.  This,  it 
will  be  seen,  includes  the  settlements  and  military  posts  now  held 
by  the  Brazilian  government;  but  as  the  territory  claimed  by 
that  empire  reaches  but  a  short  distance  west  of  the  Paraguay,  and 
does  not  embrace  any  portion  of  the  Otuquis  River  or  Bahia  Ne- 
gra,  even  should  this  claim  be  persisted  in  and  conceded  by  Boliv- 
ia, it  can  not  materially  affect  this  grant.     The  agricultural  ex- 


176  OLIDEN'S  OPERATIONS. 

periments  upon  the  lands  of  Oliden  were  interesting,  and  show 
what  has  been  accomplished  within  these  limits,  I  quote  from  a 
"Descripcion  de  la  Nueva  Provincia  da  Otuquis  en  Bolivia:  par 
Mauricio  Back." 

"  The  village  of  Santiago,  whickMr.  Oliden  made  in  1833  the  centre  of 
his  operations,  on  the  southern  border  of  the  province  of  Chiquitos,  and  sit- 
uated on  the  Cordillera  of  the  same  name,  has  a  population  of  1380  souls, 
and  enjoys  a  temperate,  salubrious  climate.  This  Cordillera,  whence  issue 
many  small  streams,  which  form  tlie  Kiver  '  Otu.quis,'  contains,  according  to 
reliable  authority,  mines  of  gold,  silver,  quicksilver,  and  precious  stones. 
In  the  mountains  are  most  valuable  woods  and  medicinal  plants.  On  the 
plains  south  of  this  Cordillera  are  skirts  of  wood,  palm,  and  grass  lands, 
suited  for  grazing.     The  soil  is  of  remarkable  fertility. 

"  At  a  distance  of  seven  leagues  from  the  above-mentioned  point  Mr. 
Oliden  formed  his  first  settlement  on  the  '  Rio  Agua  Caliente' — Hot  River 
— over  the  ruins  of  the  old  town  of  Santiago,  founded  by  the  Jesuits,  which 
is  now  called  '  Florida.'  The  '  Agua  Caliente'  takes  its  rise  in  a  warm  lake 
five  leagues  south  of  Santiago.  This  settlement  was  composed  in  the  year 
1836  of  several  handsome  houses,  which  had  been  erected  by  order  of  the 
'  empresario,'  and  is  the  point  which  he  had  selected  for  his  own  residence. 
He  established  large  farms,  which  were  cultivated  with  great  success  :  corn, 
of  which  two  crops  were  made  annually ;  rice  equal  to  that  of  Bengal ; 
mandioca  of  extraordinary  size  ;  cofiee  of  superior  quality  ;  cocoa,  sugar-cane, 
and  tobacco — this  last  the  best  known — sweet  potatoes,  peanuts,  beans  of 
every  variety,  and  every  class  of  vegetables. 

"  He  established  estancias  south  of  this  town,  on  rivers  of  never-failing 
water,  where  the  grazing  was  abundant  for  the  rearing  of  cattle,  sheep,  and 
mules.  From  Florida  he  opened  a  road  to  the  great  salina,  distant  fifty 
leagues,  from  which,  by  way  of  the  Cordillera  '  de  Lances,'  it  may  be  con- 
tinued to  '  Chuquisaca'  and  '  Tarija.'  Another  road  was  opened  from  Flor- 
ida to  Oliden,  the  central  point  of  the  new  province,  and  distant  sixteen 
leagues  east.  This  was  the  situation  of  the  old  town  of  '  Corezon  de  Jesus,' 
founded  by  the  Jesuits  on  an  elevated  plain  by  the  side  of  the  'RioTucu- 
baca,'  in  latitude  19^  04'  south,  longitude  61°  03'  west  from  Paris.  An- 
other road  has  been  opened  from  Oliden  to  the  town  of  '  Santa  Corezon,' 
distant  twenty-two  leagues  N.N.E.  This  town  has  a  population  of  1106 
souls,  and  its  climate  is  rather  hot  than  temperate.  On  this  road,  and  at 
the  distance  of  fifteen  leagues  from  '  Oliden,'  the  empresario  established  a 
'  hacienda' — a  farm,  which  he  called  '  Sietos,'  for  the  cultivation  particular- 
ly of  cotton  and  sugar-cane.  Its  product  in  the  year  1836  was  very  consid- 
erable. 

"  In  the  vicinity  of  the  town  of  '  Santiago,'  on  the  Serrania  of  the  same 
name,  and  in  the  valley  formed  by  the  same,  he  established  another  hacien- 


h,^^,  »'<•'»■'%  hi 


a 

a 

a 


\#  ^!Pl»V^l-l||t« 


FORT  COIMBRA.  179 

da  called  '  Eiiiconadra,'  for  the  cultivation  of  the  sugar-cane.     Its  product 
in  the  same  year  was  equal  to  that  of '  Sietos.' " 

As  the  luivigability  of  the  Otuquis  is  supposed  to  be  establish- 
ed from  the  high  lands  of  Bolivia  for  a  long  distance  in  its  course 
southeast,  and  as  the  expedition  under  my  command  examined  it 
for  thirty-one  miles  above  its  confluence  with  the  Paraguay,  it 
only  remains  to  determine  the  connection  between  these  two 
points. 

The  government  of  Bolivia  has  always  been  liberal  in  offering 
inducements  to  immigration,  feeling  perhaps  assured  that  through 
the  energy  of  foreign  populations  alone  can  the  riches  of  that  re- 
public— the  "  golden"  and  the  "  garden"  spot  of  La  Plata — be 
brought  to  light.  It  is  a  source  of  gratification  to  know  that  the 
late  explorations  of  the  Water  Witch  have  contributed  something 
toward  the  consummation  of  such  a  point,  by  establishing  the  fact 
of  an  easy  and  safe  navigation  for  ocean  steamers  from  the  At- 
lantic to  Bahia  Negra,  a  fact  not  before  practically  demonstrated, 
therefore  not  confidently  believed. 

'■'•November  21  th^  1853.  Again  under  way ;  beyond'Bahia Negra, 
little  change  in  the  aspect  of  the  river  or  adjacent  country  to  Fort 
Coimbra  in  Brazil,  thirty -three  miles  from  Olimpo,  where  we  an- 
chored after  dark,  and  immediately  received  a  visit  from  the  com- 
mandante,  who  had  overland  orders  from  his  government  anticipa- 
tory of  our  arrival.  This  gentleman,  Antonia  Peixoto  de  Azevido 
liavim  Capite,  said  that  he  had  for  some  time  been  watching  for  us, 
and  at  last,  with  strange  emotion,  saw  the  smoke  and  lights  of  the 
little  steamer  as  she  plowed  the  waters  of  the  wilderness." 

Fort  Coimbra  is  the  first  Brazilian  settlement  south  on  the  Par- 
aguay, and  it  is  the  first  on  the  right  bank  since  leaving  Santa  F^, 
twelve  hundred  and  eighty  miles  below.  In  all  that  extent  of 
country,  though  habitable,  fertile,  and  salubrious,  we  have  not  seen 
one  white  soul.  The  entire  province  of  Matto  Grosso  is  divided 
into  three  military  districts,  embracing  fourteen  commands — Matto 
Grosso,  Santa  Maria,  and  Baxo — Paraguay.  This  last  includes  that 
portion  of  the  empire  into  which  our  expedition  entered.  I  called 
on  the  commandante,  who  received  me  in  a  small  room  with  no 
superfluous  furniture;  for  we  must  remember  that  Coimbra  at  that 
time  could  only  be  approached  from  Rio  de  Janeiro  by  Cuyaba,  a 
distance  of  twelve  hundred  miles  land  travel  and  five  hundred  of 
river  navigation ;  the  land  journey  is  over  mountains,  their  passes 
in  many  places  accessible  only  to  mules.     I  should  have  been  as- 


180  COIMBRA. 

tonished  to  find  here  an  officer  of  sucli  intelligence  and  polished 
manners  had  I  not  learned  that  the  "  commands"  of  this  rich  fron- 
tier province  are  posts  of  distinction,  for  with  the  military  duties 
are  united  high  civil  functions.  The  commandante  said  that  he  had 
been  charged  by  his  government  to  afford  me  all  possible  facilities 
in  forwarding  the  objects  of  the  expedition,  but  that,  for  reasons  al- 
ready given  by  the  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs  to  the  United  States 
Minister,  I  could  not  ascend  above  Corumba,  a  military  station  one 
hundred  and  twenty  miles  beyond  Coimbra. 

It  was  a  slight  extension  of  "  my  limits,"  which  had  first  been 
fixed  at  Albuquerque.  This  officer  was  enthusiastic  in  dwelling 
upon  the  progi'ess  of  the  exploration,  "fruitful,"  he  said,  "with  glo- 
rio\is  results,  and  worthy  of  commemoration  by  a  marble  pillar. 
The  little  Water  Witch,"  he  added,  "  would  hve  in  the  memory  of 
the  Brazilians." 

While  flattering  us  with  these  expressions,  he  frankly  and  un- 
reservedly regretted  that  any  hmit  should  have  been  placed  to  our 
exploration.  A  steamer  was  a  familiar  sight  to  these  Brazihans ; 
the  novelty  was  to  see  one  at  Coimbra.  In  visiting  us,  the  com- 
mandante, as  a  military  man,  was  particularly  interested  in  the  ex- 
amination of  our  little  armament,  consisting  of  three  howitzers. 
"  They  were,"  he  said,  "  perfect  pieces  of  ordnance  of  their  class, 
and  admirable  for  the  field  operations  of  his  frontier  position." 

Coimbra,  in  latitude  19°  65' 43",  longitude  57°  52' 32'',  stands 
on  a  spur  of  a  mountain  of  the  same  name,  which  here  slopes  to 
-the  river,  rising  not  more  than  forty  feet  above  it  at  the  point  upon 
which  is  placed  the  fort,  a  solid  stone  structure,  which  could,  with 
some  few  additions,  be  made  a  place  of  great  strength.  It  mounts 
six  guns,  long  twelve-pounders,  most  of  them  of  brass,  and  very 
fine  pieces.  They  completely  command  the  channel  of  the  river, 
which  is  here  one  third  of  a  mile  wide.  Vessels  in  passing  are 
within  point-blank  shot.  The  interior  of  the  fort  was  in  admira- 
ble order,  and  great  improvements  were  contemplated,  some  of 
•which  were  in  progress.  Within  the  walls  were  small  stone  houses 
thatched  with  straw,  the  quarters  of  the  commandante,  three  offi- 
cers, and  a  part  of  the  garrison ;  the  remainder  live  without  the 
walls,  where  are  fixed  the  families  of  some  of  the  soldiers.  Madame 
Peixoto  de  Azevido  had  given  up  all  the  comforts  and  luxury  of 
a  life  in  the  capital  to  share  this  frontier  home  with  her  husband. 

All  supplies  are -obtained  from  Albuquerque  or  the  neighboring 
Indians.     The  mountains  and  pampa  adjacent  afford  little  scope 


THE  CACIQUE  OF  THE  GUAYCURUS.  181 

for  cultivation  or  grazing,  the  latter  not  being  exempt  from  in- 
undation, while  the  former  offers  little  arable  land.  The  new 
commandante  had  not  been  here  long  enough  to  carry  out  his  con- 
templated unprovements,  which  embrace  gardens,  as  well  as  addi- 
tional military  defenses,  by  placing  guns  upon  the  heights  of  the 
sierra,  commanding  the  fort  in  the  rear.  The  low  lands,  for  some 
distance  above  Coimbra,  are  subject  to  inundation ;  but,  at  the 
same  time,  there  are  reaches  of  firm  land,  covered  with  excellent 
woods,  and  never  overflowed  exceijt  in  seasons  of  extraordinary 
rise. 

The  mountains  are  still  insulated  peaks  or  short  ranges,  proba- 
bly spurs  of  the  Bolivian  sierras,  which  extend  through  Chiquitos. 

As  at  Pan  de  Azucar,  so  likewise  at  Coimbra,  two  insulated 
hills  face  each  other  on  opposite  sides  of  the  Paraguay ;  that  on 
the  west  we  ascertained  to  rise  four  hundred  and  fifty  feet  above 
the  level  of  the  water,  its  formation  being  of  lime  and  sandstone, 
with  moss -like  impressions  resembling  arborescent  marble,  of 
which  we  got  some  very  pretty  specimens. 

The  temperature  on  the  28th  of  November  was,  at  6  P.M.,  air 
81°,  water  88°. 

The  neighboring  Chaco  is  here  occupied  by  the  warlike  Guay- 
curus.  While  the  attitude  of  Paraguay  toward  her  wild  neighbors 
has  been  one  of  hostility  or  non-intercourse,  that  of  Brazil  is  now, 
and  always  has  been,  conciliatory.  '  The  great  cacique  of  the 
Guaycurus,  Tacalaguana,  holds  a  commission  from  the  Imperial 
Government  as  an  officer  of  rank,  and  receives  frequent  presents 
for  himself  and  tribe.  He  is  always  treated  with  marked  civility 
and  distinction  by  the  commanders  of  this  frontier  province.  His 
manner,  not  only  to  his  own  people,  but  in  all  intercourse  with 
strangers,  is  lofty  and  exacting ;  he  receives  no  present,  not  even 
a  cigar,  except  from  the  hands  of  an  attendant,  and  in  return 
makes  no  sort  of  acknowledgment,  considering  his  acceptance  of 
the  offering  a  favor  and  condescension.  The  wisdom  of  the  Bra- 
zihan  policy  toward  these  Indians  is  apparent ;  it  enables  her  to 
maintain  upon  her  frontier  a  formidable  force  at  little  or  no  ex- 
pense. 

After  placing  a  current-gauge,  to  mark  the  fall  of  water  per 
day  until  our  return,  we  were  again  under  way.  The  commander 
accompanied  us  for  a  short  distance,  and  returned  in  his  canoe. 
It  had  been  the  intention  of  Madame  de  Azevido  and  himself  to 
accept  my  invitation  of  a  passage  to  Albuquerque,  but  her  illness 


182  THE  CURALO  TODO. 

deprived  us  ©f  this  pleasure.  At  a  short  distance  above  Coimbra 
we  passed  a  huge  canoe  floating  down  lazily  with  the  current, 
and  filled  with  what  looked  like  an  emigrating  host.  It  was  a 
party  of  Brazilians  bound  for  the  salinas.  As  we  passed  them 
the  men  rested  upon  their  oars,  and  all  gazed  as  if  lost  in  aston- 
ishment at  the  appearance  of  oiir  little  steamer  in  these  distant 
waters. 


CHAPTER  XI. 


The  Moro  Dorito. — Curalo  Todo. — Tea,  Coffee,  and  Milk. — Position  of  Anchorage 
off  Albuquerque. — The  Miranda. — The  Tacuary. — Azara's  Maps. — The  Cam- 
barasa. — The  Paraguay  Mini. — Corumba. — The  Guatambu. — Hunting  the  Ja- 
guar.— Fruits. — Return  to  Albuquerque. — Village  of  Mbayas. — An  Indian  Mis- 
sion.— Rice  and  Cotton. — Schools. — The  Padre. — A  Dance. — Missionary  Effort. 
— The  Jesuits. — The  Dinner  on  board  the  Water  Witch. — Trade  of  Cuyaba. — 
Bolivian  Refugees. — The  Grotto  Inferno. — Capture  of  a  Sentinel. — Fate  of  the 
Refugees. — Birds. — The  Jaguar. — Its  Ferocity. — Lenguas  Indians. — The  Com- 
mandante  wears  a  long  Face. — The  Yellow  Parrot. — Anchored  off  Asuncion. — 
A  Storm  brewing. 

"  November  IWi.  Under  way.  After  passing  the  Moro  Dorito, 
a  round  wooded  hill  on  the  left  bank,  about  two  and  a  half  miles 
above  our  last  anchorage,  the  lands  on  that  side  are  low,  while 
opposite,  short  ranges  or  isolated  peaks,  alternating  with  plains  of 
grass,  are  continuous.  The  most  elevated  and  remarkable  in  ap- 
pearance of  these  mountains  is  the  Sierra  Consello,  twenty-two 
miles  above  the  Coimbra.  It  rises  near  the  river  bank,  fifteen 
hundred  feet  above  the  level  of  the  water,  and  is  covered  with 
fine  timber.  The  country  on  the  left  is  higher  than  that  between 
Olimpo  and  Coimbra,  but  is  not  entirely  exempt  from  inundation 
at  the  greatest  rise  of  the  river.  Many  points,  however,  are  well 
wooded. 

"  Thirty-five  miles  above  Coimbra,  on  the  left,  a  lovely  grove  of 
the  aguaraibay,  familiarly  known  in  the  country  as  Curalo  todo* 
or  Para  iodoJ'' 

This  tree  abounds  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  Uruguay  mis- 
sions, and  from  its  leaves,  gathered  at  any  season,  but  usually 
when  the  tree  is  in  flower,  is  extracted,  by  boiling,  a  sirup  known 
as  the  "  Balm  de  Aguaraibay,"  or  "  Balm  of  the  Missions."  Be- 
fore the  revolution,  each  Indian  village  was  obliged  to  furnish 
two  pounds  of  this  balm  annually  to  the  royal  pharmaceutist  at 

*  Universal  remedy. 


COFFEE  AND  MILK.  X83 

Madrid.  The  medicinal  properties  of  the  leaf  of  the  para  todo 
were  first  made  known  by  a  Hungarian  Jesuit,  Sigismund  Asper- 
ger, who  spent  forty  years  among  the  missions  of  La  Plata,  and 
died  after  the  expulsion  of  his  order,  at  the  advanced  age  of  one 
hundred  and  twelve  years."^  Asperger,  who  had  in  early  life  been 
a  physician,  was  indefatigable  in  botanic  research,  and  an  accom- 
plished pharmacologist.  He  left  a  manuscript  of  medical  recipes 
and  examples  of  acute  cases  which  he  had  successfully  treated 
with  medicines  prepared  from  the  indigenous  vegetation  of  the 
country.  Several  curanderos — the  only  physicians  of  Paraguay, 
have  copies  of  this  valuable  manuscript. 

"Least  depth  of  water  to-day  (fifteen  feet)  since  leaving  Pan  de 
Azucar.  Anchored  before  sundown  off  Albuquerque ;  saw  near 
the  river  only  two  huts,  for  the  town  is  three  miles  inland,  at  the 
foot  of  a  sierra  of  the  same  name.  As  the  water  is  falling,  I  have 
determined  to  push  on  to  Corumba,  and  visit  the  authorities  of 
Albuquerque  when  I  return.  Strolling  along  the  banks  before 
dark,  we  saw  at  a  short  distance  a  rancho,  and  near  it  a  corral 
filled  with  cattle,  the  first  seen  since  leaving  the  frontier  guardia 
of  Paraguay.  Endeavored  to  procure  some  milk,  a  luxury  not 
appreciated  by  the  people  of  this  river  country ;  indeed,  it  is  nev- 
er used  by  the  Argentinos  or  Paraguayans  except  with  hominy." 

Bi  moving  from  one  nation  to  another,  bordering  on  the  same 
great  water-course,  it  is  curious  to  observe  how  circumstances, 
habit,  and  local  influences  make  certain  articles  essentials  of  life. 
We  have  left  behind  us  the  region  of  mate,  and  here,  on  the  very 
confines  of  Brazil,  far  from  her  coffee  districts,  the  decoction  of 
this  berry  is  the  favorite  drink  of  all  who  can  procure  it.  "We 
got  our  milk  fi^esh  from  the  cow,  procured  a  novel  and  primitive 
vessel  in  which  to  carry  it  to  the  steamer,  and  on  that  evening 
feasted  with  tea,  coffee,  and  milk. 

"  Temperature  of  air  at  six  P.M.,  81° ;  water,  88°  ;  maximum, 
meridian,  90° ;  minimum,  midnight,  76°.  Position  of  anchorage 
off  Albuquerque,  latitude  19°  26'  53"  south,  longitude  57°  28'  51" 
west ;  distance  from  Coimbra  forty-seven  miles.  Put  up  a  gauge 
to  ascertain  the  fall  of  the  water  during  our  absence. 

'^November  30//i,  1853.  At  an  early  hour  this  morning  under 
way.  Four  miles  above  our  last  anchorage,  the  Eiver  Miranda, 
or,  as  it  is  marked  on  Azara's  map,  Mbotetey,  empties  mto  the 
Paraguay  on  the  east  by  two  mouths:  one  only,  the  lowest,  is 

*  Azara. 


184  MAPS.— MALO  PASO. 

navigable.  It  rises  in  the  Cordillera  San  Jose,  a  range  which, 
under  various  names,  extends  through  many  degrees  north  and 
south,  and  is  the  watershed  for  several  of  the  western  tributaries 
of  the  Parana  and  the  eastern  tributaries  of  the  Paraguay.  The 
Miranda  is,  I  am  told,  navigable  to  a  town  of  the  same  name,  one 
hundred  and  sixty  miles  in  the  interior;  but  as  the  Paraguay  is 
falling  rapidly,  and  I  do  not  wish  to  be  caught  here,  a  fixture  for 
some  months,  I  can  not  spare  the  time  for  its  examination. 

"  To  the  right  the  sierras  are  continuous,  extending  west  be- 
yond the  horizon :  they  are,  without  doubt,  part  of  the  Bolivian 
range  of  San  Pantaleon.  Six  miles  above  the  Miranda  is  the  mouth 
of  another  eastern  tributary,  the  Tacuary,  which  also  rises  in  the 
Cordillera  of  San  Jose.  I  can  not  at  this  time  explore  these  trib- 
utaries, and  find  it  difficult  to  obtain  any  reliable  information  of 
their  characteristics.  Even  upon  the  Paraguay  we  find  in  this 
vicinage  but  one  settlement  of  the  white  race,  an  estancia  belong- 
ing to  a  gentleman  of  Albuquerque,  about  six  miles  above  the 
mouth  of  the  Tacuary :  it  is  well  stocked  with  cattle." 

On  the  east,  back  to  the  Cordillera  of  San  Jose,  is  a  fine  rolling 
country,  marked  on  several  maps  as  the  Lake  of  Xarayes.  This  is 
a  geographical  error,  but  not  greater  than  many  I  have  had  occa- 
sion to  remark,  in  the  course  of  my  professional  experience,  in 
various  parts  of  the  world,  and  this,  too,  in  an  age  when  the  per- 
fection of  instruments  leaves  no  excuse  for  inaccuracy.  There 
are  no  indications  here  of  a  lake.  The  land  is  low,  and  doubtless 
not  exempt  from  inundation  at  the  season  of  high  water.  The 
growth  on  the  banks  is  shrubby,  but  back,  and  immediately  ad- 
jacent, is  a  dense  forest,  which  looks  as  if  it  might  be  the  growth 
of  ages. 

In  alluding  to  received  errors  in  the  geography  of  this  country, 
I  must  except  the  maps  of  Azara.  His  latitudes  are  remarkably 
correct,  and  his  longitudes  are  as  much  so  as  we  have  a  right  to 
expect,  when  we  remember  the  period  at  which  he  worked,  and 
the  perfection  which  three  quarters  of  a  century  of  improvement 
has  given  to  the  construction  of  instruments.  On  his  map  the 
southern  border  of  this  lake  is  fixed  at  18°. 

'■^November  SOth.  Twenty-one  miles  above  Albuquerque.  Anoth- 
er malo  paso.  It  really  offers  no  obstacle  to  a  continuous  naviga- 
tion of  the  Paraguay,  but  there  is  a  shoal  extending  from  the  right 
bank,  and  rocks  on  the  left,  which  contract  the  width  of  the  chan- 
nel, and  reduce  its  depth  to  twelve  feet,  when  it  still  has  seven  to 


SADDLE-SHAPED  MOUNTAIN. 


185 


fall.  This  pass  is  called  Cambarasa,  from  a  beautiful  grove  on  tbe 
left  bank.  The  cambarasa  is  one  of  the  finest  trees  of  this  lati- 
tude ;  the  trunk,  without  limbs,  rises  to  the  height  of  about  forty 
feet ;  it  then  shoots  out  a  multitude  of  branches  covered  with  rich 
dark  foliage,  the  whole  forming  an  umbrella-shaped  crowning. 

"  Three  miles  above,  on  the  opposite  side,  a  mountain  range  ap- 
proaches the  river,  and  from  its  base,  extending  quite  down  to  the 
water,  is  a  fine  growth  of  lapacho.  Two  miles  above  this,  on  the 
east,  is  the  mouth  of  the  Omigara,  said  to  be  only  a  branch  of  the 
Tacuary.  Beyond,  on  the  same  side,  begins  an  extensive  and 
beautiful  forest  of  cambarasa,  distant  from  the  river,  at  different 
points,  from  one  quarter  to  two  miles. 

"Have  advanced  some  distance,  and  observe,  eight  miles  in- 
land, a  saddle-shaped  mountain,  here  represented  in  the  sketch ;  it 


SADDLE-SHAPED   -MOUNTAIN. 


slopes  gradually  in  rounded  hills  and  rolling  wooded  lands  to  the 
west  bank  of  the  Paraguay,  and  is  one  of  a  broken  range  extend- 
ing northward  for  forty  miles  from  Albuquerque.  On  the  east  is 
a  similar  wooded  range,  broken  by  plains  and  perpendicular  sec- 
tions of  a  rocky  formation.  This  mingling  of  mountain,  forest, 
plain,  and  rock  is  inexpressibly  beautiful. 


186  ASCENT  TO  CORUMBA. 

"  The  Parcaguay  Mini — Little  Paraguay,  liere  empties  into  the 
main  river.  It  is  said  to  shorten,  by  thirty  miles,  the  ascension  to 
Cuyaba,  but  has  less  depth  than  the  main  river. 

"  Fifty-five  miles  above  Albuquerque.  For  the  first  time  an 
appearance  of  a  lake  upon  the  east.  It  is  a  narrow,  shallow  strip 
of  water,  running  parallel  with  the  river,  and  there  is  a  mountain 
about  two  miles  in  the  interior,  with  a  low  plain  between  it  and 
this  lagoon.  As  we  approach  Corumba,  the  country  presents  the 
appearance  of  a  beautiful  and  recently-mown  meadow,  bounded 
by  wooded  mountains,  artificially  terraced  to  the  plain.  The  si- 
lence and  solitude  is  that  of  a  desert.  Not  a  sign  of  human  life, 
not  a  vestige  or  germ  of  civilization,  except  our  little  craft;  she 
puffs  over  the  waters;  at  her  peak  the  "stars  and  stripes" are  spread 
by  a  gentle  southern  breeze.  We  are  opening,  I  sanguinely  hope, 
a  new  path  to  commerce  and  civilization. 

"  In  sight  of  the  little  settlement  of  Corumba.  As  we  approach 
we  find  the  passage  of  the  river  intricate ;  as  httle  as  ten  feet  wa- 
ter. We  have  on  board  several  men  sent  by  the  commandante  to 
pilot  us  up.  There  is  a  vast  deal  of  disputing  in  Spanish,  Portu- 
guese, and  Guarani,  evidently  a  diversity  of  opinion,  creating 
such  confusion  that  the  Water  Witch  has  narrowly  escaped  being- 
run  ashore. 

"  Minimum  temperature  at  8  A.M.,  75°,  wind  N.N.W.  Maxi- 
mum, 3  P.M.,  91.5°,  wind  south.  Width  of  river,  six  hundred 
yards ;  depth,  fifteen  feet. 

"We  have  now  reached  the  utmost  limit  to  which  Brazil  will 
permit  us  to  ascend." 

Permission  was  subsequently  given  for  the  expedition  to  ex- 
tend its  operations  throughout  the  Brazilian  affluents  of  La  Plata, 
a  result  I  confidently  expected  from  the  well-known  intelli- 
gence and  enlightened  spirit  of  the  Emperor,  notwithstanding  the 
first  refusal. 

This  conviction  did  not  lessen  my  regret  at  being  obliged  to 
abide  by  the  decision  of  the  Imperial  Government.  A  few  days 
would  have  taken  us  to  Cuyaba.  From  that  point  I  could  have 
concluded  the  survey  of  the  river  to  its  source  in  a  boat,  and 
have  sent  the  steamer  so  far  down  as  to  pass  in  time  all  shoal 
places. 

"  The  west  banks  here  rise  fifty  or  sixty  feet  to  the  level  of  a 
plain  which  stretches  back  to  a  range  of  wooded  mountains.  It 
has  extended  forests,  with  alternations  of  grass-land.     The  soil  is 


CORUMBA. 


187 


undoubtedly  fine,  but,  witli  the  exception  of  one  solitary  estancia 
well-stocked  with  cattle,  and  yielding  excellent  crops  of  corn  and 
mandioca,  there  is  no  attempt  at  culture  in  any  direction.  Aloes 
and  cacti  abound ;  and  in  our  walks  through  the  country  we  rec- 
ognized woods  seen  several  degrees  south,  such  as  the  sabinata 
(soap-tree),  pala  bianco,  etc.  I  procured  sections  of  others  not  in- 
digenous to  a  lower  latitude ;  above  all,  the  guatambu.  This  has 
the  finest  unaginable  texture,  is  of  a  delicate  straw  color,  receives 
a  high  polish,  and  would  be,  undoubtedly,  in  cabinet-work,  the 
most  precious  of  arboreal  treasures.  Gathered  four  varieties  of 
edible  fruits  not  before  seen. 

"  Shot  two  vampire-bats ;  one  was  flying  with  young  in  its 
claws.  Fine  specimens  of  patos  reales,  a  duck  very  like  our  do- 
mestic Muscovy,  but  far  more  delicate  for  table  use,  have  been 
added  to  our  collections." 

The  station  or  village  of  Corumba  is  merely  a  collection  of 
thatched  huts  forming  two  sides  of  a  plaza,  at  one  end  of  which  is 
a  chapel,  distinguishable  only  by  its  cross  from  the  humble  tene- 


COBUMBA. 


ments.     A  commander,  fifteen  soldiers,  and  about  thirty  women 
and  children,  apparently  mixed  breeds  of  whites,  Indians,  and  ne- 


188  JAGUAR-HUNTING. 

groes,  are  the  inliabitants  of  this  place,  whicli  has  the  appearance 
of  a  forlorn  settlement  of  squatters. 

The  neighboring  forests  abound  in  jaguars,  said  to  be  equal  in 
ferocity  to  the  Bengal  tiger.  Having  heard  that  the  commander 
was  a  Nimrod,  I  proposed  a  hunt,  to  which  he  readily  assented, 
and  both  time  and  place  of  meeting  were  arranged.  "We  were 
punctual  to  our  appointment,  but  by  some  mistake  spearmen  and 
dogs  started  before  us ;  as  the  latter  failed  to  strike  the  trail  of  a 
beast,  we  lost  nothing.  The  commandante  showed  us  a  fierce  pack 
of  dogs,  with  each  one  of  which  was  associated  some  fearful  story 
of  hairbreadth  escape.  He  gave  us  also  a  spirited  account  of  his 
hunting  adventures,  always  perilous  where  the  jaguar  is  the  ob- 
ject. He  goes  out  armed  with  a  double-barreled  gun,  and  attend- 
ed by  two  spearmen  or  lanceros,  each  famished  with  a  long  lance 
and  knife.  The  lance  is  pointed  with  iron,  and  on  either  side, 
about  fifteen  inches  from  the  end,  is  a  projection  of  the  same  metal, 
forming  a  cross ;  this  is  to  keep  the  tiger  at  a  safe  distance  as  he 
receives  a  thrust ;  for,  if  not  wounded  in  some  vital  point — heart, 
head,  or  spine — he  never  falls  or  attempts  to  escape,  but,  infuriated, 
springs,  with  wonderful  strength  and  the  agility  of  a  cat,  at  the 
hunter.  The  arm  of  the  spearman  must  be  strong  and  steady,  and 
the  second  fire  fatal,  or  the  result  of  the  battle  is  doubtful.  On 
one  occasion  a  powerful  beast,  enraged  by  a  slight  wound,  in  an 
incredibly  short  time  laid  eight  dogs  dead  around  him,  and  made 
a  dash  at  the  commander,  who  had  ventured  out  without  his  lan- 
ceros, and  only  saved  himself  by  a  precipitate  retreat. 

"  December  2d.  During  the  last  forty-eight  hours  the  river  has 
fallen  3-|  inches.  We  gathered  some  wild  fruits  to-day  while 
strolling  through  the  woods  near  the  settlement — the  guacupari, 
pleasantly  acid ;  cacan,  mangarba,  cipata. 

"  Albuquerque,  December  3c?,  1853.  Fearing  to  be  caught  in  the 
upper  waters,  I  returned  to  Albuquerque,  making  the  run  in  seven 
hours  and  a  half ;  on  board,  the  Commandante  of  Corumba  and 
his  wife,  who  wished  to  visit  this  station. 

"  Temperature  of  air  at  6  o'clock  A.M.,  75° ;  at  three  P.M.,  92°; 
calm ;  water,  89°,  the  highest  temperature  yet  felt.  In  passing 
again  the  Paso  Cambarasa,  to  which  I  have  alluded,  we  inclined 
more  to  the  right,  and  found  deeper  water,  proving  that  in  ascend- 
ing we  were  out  of  the  channel." 

Albuquerque  takes  its  name  from  a  mountain,  evidently  a  de- 
tached range  of  the  Sierra  Dorado,  known  also  to  the  Bolivians  as 


ALBUQUERQUE. 


189 


the  Sierra  Santa  Lucia.  It  is  the  central  and  principal  post  on  the 
Paraguay  frontier,  and  is  embraced  in  the  command  of  Captain 
Peixoto  de  Azevido,  whom  we  found  here  upon  our  arrival.  On 
this  occasion  we  visited  the  village,  beautifully  situated,  about 
three  miles  from  the  river,  amid  a  grove  of  tropical  trees,  which 
concealed  it  entirely  from  view  as  we  approached. 


PLAZA  OF  ALBUQUEEQTTE. 


The  whole  aspect  of  the  place  was  cheerful  and  pleasant ;  it 
consisted  of  sixty  or  seventy  adobe  houses,  built  round  a  plaza, 
at  one  end  of  which,  as  usual,  stood  the  chapel,  with  its  white- 
washed gable  and  cross.  In  the  centre  of  the  square  were  several 
guns,  and  in  the  immediate  vicinity  a  number  of  huts  occupied 
by  Guanos  Indians,  part  of  the  agricultural  tribe  to  which  I  have 
alluded  in  connection  with  the  Mbayas. 

I  accepted  an  invitation  from  our  friend  the  commandante  to 
breakfast  with  him,  and  spend  the  day  in  visiting  the  various  In- 
dian settlements  of  the  neighborhood.  After  an  abundant  repast, 
to  which  all  the  oi!icers  of  the  Water  Witch  and  some  of  the  prin- 
cipal personages  of  the  village  were  asked,  we  called  at  two  es- 
tablishments of  Guaycurus.  They  live  in  neat  huts,  and  occupy 
themselves  so  successfully  in  cultivating  the  ground  as  to  supply 
nearly  all  the  vegetables  used  at  Albuquerque,  and  many  of  those 
sent  to  Coimbra  and  Corumba.  The  following  day  we  visited  the 
"Missao  da  Nossa  Senhora  de  bom  Consuelho,  no  Baixo  Para- 
guay," about  eight  miles  from  Albuquerque,  which  is  still  more 
interesting,  as  exhibiting  the  aptness  of  the  Indian  for  civilization. 

The  subjects  of  this  mission  are  Guanos,  under  the  immediate 


190  MISSION  OF  OUR  LADY  OF  GOOD  COUNSEL. 

charge  of  a  li'ranciscan  friar,  wlio  labors  zealously  both  to  Chris- 
tianize and  improve  their  temporal  condition.  In  witnessing  the 
results  so  far,  we  were  involuntarily  impressed  with  respect  for  the 
religion  and  for  the  order.  A  few  years  past,  these  Indians,  now 
forming  a  Christian  community,  were  wandering  among  the  wilds 
of  the  Chaco. 

Our  ride  extended  through  a  fine  rolling  country,  but  we  were 
scarcely  prepared  for  the  neatness,  order,  and  cultivation  imme- 
diately around  the  mission.  One  end  of  the  large  plaza  was  oc- 
cupied by  the  church  and  school-house,  and  on  two  sides  were  the 
dwellings  of  the  Indians,  merely  thatched  huts,  but  admirably  con- 
structed for  health  and  comfort  in  a  tropical  climate.  Twenty  feet 
was  the  width  allowed  to  each  house,  which,  with  a  door  at  either 
end,  and  partitioned  within  by  cotton  curtains,  had  all  the  neces- 
sary advantage  of  privacy,  with  free  circulation  of  air ;  some  sim- 
ple cooking  utensils,  two  or  three  cots,  and  a  raised  platform  on 
one  side  completed  the  interior  arrangements.  The  platforms 
served  during  the  day  for  tables  or  seats,  and  at  night,  where  the 
family  was  large,  as  places  of  repose. 

To  each  house  was  attached  a  garden,  whei'e  vegetables  were 
grown;  but  surrounding,  and  at  some  distance  from  the  village, 
were  plantations  and  fields  of  corn,  sweet  potatoes,  mandioca, 
beans,  rice,  etc.  In  the  lowlands  of  the  vicinity,  called  Pantanos, 
is  found  a  native  rice,  not  so  white  as  the  Carolina  grain,  but  nu- 
tritious, and  excellent  to  the  taste.  It  is  regularly  harvested  by 
the  Indians,  who  thrash  the  grain  from  the  stalks  into  their  canoes. 
Cotton  of  fine  quality  grows  abundantly  and  spontaneously  in  the 
neighborhood.  This  the  women  spin  with  the  distaff,  color  with 
dyes  extracted  from  the  barks  of  the  neighboring  forests,  and 
weave  into  the  fabrics  which  form  the  material  of  their  simple  gar- 
ments. These,  for  the  females,  are  long  chemises  confined  at  the 
waist,  and  for  the  men,  pantaloons  and  ponchos. 

Men  and  boys  are  trained  for  a  few  hours  each  day  by  a  cor- 
poral in  military  exercises ;  and  in  the  school  were  about  eighty 
pupils  who  had  mastered  not  only  the  rudiments  of  a  common 
education,  but  made  some  progress  in  music  and  dancing.  Their 
proficiency  in  music  reminded  me  of  the  assertion  of  the  Jesuits, 
who  allude  frequently,  and  with  enthusiasm,  to  the  genius  of  the 
Plata  Indians  for  this  beautiful  art.  All  the  performers  in  the 
band,  with  the  exception  of  the  leader  and  instructor,  who  is  a 
Brazilian,  were  Indians. 


INDIAN  MISSIONS.  X91 

We  dined  witli  the  Padre,  and  found  assembled  quite  a  large 
party,  several  gentlemen  of  Albuquerque  having  been  invited  to 
meet  us.  The  dinner  was  admirably  cooked,  and  served  by  In- 
dian servants,  and  we  had  the  pleasant  enlivenment  of  excellent 
music  from  the  band  which  was  stationed  before  the  house.  The 
dinner  was  followed  by  another  entertainment,  one  not  anticipated 
in  these  wild  regions,  but,  above  all,  at  the  good  Padre's  domicil. 
This  was  a  dance.  While  chatting  over  our  cigars,  a  number  of 
men  and  women,  neatly  dressed,  came  with  presents  for  "Padre's 
guests,"  and  the  young  people  of  the  mission  assembled  in  an  ad- 
joining room,  where,  without  the  least  confusion  or  embarrass- 
ment, they  arranged  themselves  into  quadrilles,  and  danced  with 
a  spirit  and  grace  that  astonished  us. 

When  Captain  Azevido  proposed  our  joining  them,  the  officers 
were  quite  ready,  and,  with  the  others,  I  soon  found  myself  wind- 
ing through  a  quadrille  with  a  handsome  Chaco  girl,  who  was 
much  more  at  home  in  the  figures  than  her  partner.  These  young 
Indians  were  all  well  formed,  and  some  of  them  really  handsome, 
with  countenances  guileless  and  intelligent ;  their  manner,  though 
subdued  and  gentle,  was  perfectly  self-possessed. 

It  was  touching  to  see  the  love  and  veneration  with  which  they 
all,  old  and  young,  seemed  to  regard  the  Padre. 

In  our  own  country  enormous  and  annually  increasing  sums 
are  absorbed  by  foreign  missions,  but  we  hear  little  of  extended 
and  united  efforts  among  Christian  societies  for  the  evangelization 
of  the  Indian.  Acting  upon  the  healthful  maxim  of  "justice  be- 
fore generosity,"  surely  the  first  thought  of  our  missionaries  should 
be  for  the  aboriginal  inhabitants  of  this  continent.  Some  of  the 
forest  tribes,  driven  from  State  to  Territory,  from  our  fertile  Terri- 
tories to  the  wilds  of  the  Eocky  Mountains,  are  threatened  with 
extirpation ;  they  have  been  the  victims  rather  than  the  enemies 
of  a  rude  border  population,  who  have  enriched  themselves  from 
annuities,  the  price  of  their  birthright,  and  initiated  the  savages 
only  into  all  the  vices  of  civilization. 

The  capacity  of  the  American  savage  for  a  high  civilization  has 
never  been  fully  demonstrated.  No  enlarged  and  well-digested 
poHcy  has  yet  been  essayed  which  accorded  them  spiritual  instruc- 
tion, with  political  rights  and  personal  freedom.  Greatly  as  hu- 
manity and  religion  must  ever  deplore  the  hasty  and  forced  aban- 
donment of  the  Plata  missions  by  the  Jesuits,  admirable  as  was 
the  secular  administration  of  the  fathers,  and  extraordinary  as 


192  PRICES  AT  ALBUQUERQUE. 

was  the  proficiency  of  the  Indians  in  many  of  the  arts,  their  "  Ee- 
ductions"  were  but  rehgious  communities,  governed  each  by  two 
or  three  feeble  men.  They  were  desolated  by  fierce  marauders, 
disturbed  by  the  interference  of  government  officials,  who  pretend- 
ed to  discern  in  them  the  germs  of  an  independent  empire,  jeal- 
ously watched  by  ecclesiastics,  and  surrounded  by  a  white  popula- 
tion eager  to  enslave  their  neophytes.  It  is  therefore  no  reproach 
to  the  labors  of  Jesuits  that  the  condition  of  the  Indian,  to  the  last, 
was  one  of  pupilage.  And  we  can  not  wonder  that  when  sudden- 
ly exposed  to  reactionary  influences,  separated  from  his  paternal 
governors,  and  subjected  to  the  capricious  and  jarring  tyranny  of 
civil  and  ecclesiastical  rulers,  he  should  have  again  sought  the 
wild  freedom  of  the  forest. 

It  was  not  only  a  pleasure,  but  a  duty  to  return  the  hospitalities 
of  our  Brazilian  friends,  and  this  in  the  best  manner  that  the  limit- 
ed and  nearly  exhausted  stores  of  the  Water  Witch  would  per- 
mit. Invitations  were  immediately  given,  limited  only  by  our 
accommodations ;  and  if  the  table  could  not  present  a  sumptuous 
bill  of  fare,  it  boasted  a  few  bottles  of  good  cheer,  reserved  for 
such  occasions.  " His  Imperial  Majesty,"  "the  Stars  and  Stripes," 
"our  glorious  Union,"  and  lastly,  but  enthusiastically,  by  our 
guests,  "the  Explorations  of  the  Water  Witch,"  were  all  subjects 
of  toast.  Sentiment  and  song,  anecdote  and  tale  of  adventure, 
followed  each  other  in  quick  succession.  The  western  wilds  of 
Brazil  never  before  re-echoed  the  song  and  laxighter  of  a  merrier 
party,  all  natives  of  the  American  continent. 

To  give  some  idea  of  the  profits  of  trade  to  Cuyaba,  I  append 
the  prices  of  certain  articles  at  the  time  the  Water  Witch  was  in 
those  waters.  Salt  sold  at  ten  dollars  the  Brazilian  arroba  (thirty- 
two  pounds),  flour  at  fifteen  dollars  the  arroba.  The  former  is  an 
essential  of  life,  which  never  can  be  supplied  from  the  natural  re- 
sources of  the  country.* 

I  purchased  at  Albuquerque,  for  the  ship's  company,  brown 
sugar  at  five  and  a  half  cents  a  pound.  It  was  made  in  the  neigh- 
borhood, and  neatly  moulded  into  blocks,  each  weighing  one  and 
a  half  pounds.  The  caterer  of  the  mess  bought  refined  white 
sugar,  also  made  at  Albuquerque,  and  moulded  in  the  same  form, 
for  thirteen  and  a  half  cents.     For  cofPee  brought  from  Cuyaba 

*  Mandioca  is  at  present,  in  the  north  of  La  Plata,  a  substitute  for  bread,  and, 
while  travelinj:^  in  the  eastern  wilds  of  Paraguay,  I  have  eaten  bread  made  from 
flour  of  the  bitter  mandioca  equal  to  the  finest  wheaten  loaves. 


BRAZILIAN  REFUGEES.  ,  193 

we  paid  twenty -seven  cents  per  pound.  It  is  said  that  planta- 
tions of  coffee  would  succeed  admirably  in  this  region  of  the 
country,  but  the  population  is  small,  and  the  impossibility  hereto- 
fore of  finding  a  market  has  alone  prevented  its  cultivation.  The 
hign  price  we  paid  arose  from  a  temporary  scarcity  of  the  article 
at  Albuquerque,  and  the  unusual  demand  of  a  quantity  for  a  for- 
eign ship's  crew. 

The  steamer  was  overrun  with  Indians  bringing  presents  of  pigs, 
poultry,  sugar-cane,  bananas,  and  vegetables,  expecting  in  return, 
not  money,  but  salt.  The  steward  was  not  allowed  to  impose 
upon  their  ignorance,  and  when  they  received  a  pound  in  return 
for  two  chickens  or  a  pig,  they  were  amazed  at  our  liberality. 
The  supplies  brought  were  greatly  beyond  our  wants,  and  obliged 
us  to  decline  them  at  last,  giving  all  who  came,  however,  a  little 
salt. 

"  The  river  has  fallen  within  the  last  three  days  seven  inches, 
as  shown  by  the  gauge.  Temperature  of  air  varying  from  75°  to 
96°;  that  of  the  water,  89°. 

^^  December  Ith^  1853.  When  about  to  get  under  way  for  Coim- 
bra,  with  its  commandante  on  board  as  our  guest,  we  were  ap- 
proached by  a  long,  unwieldy  open  boat,  containing  four  refugee 
Bolivian  officers,  who  had  brought  letters  from  the  Grovernor  of 
Matto  Grosso  to  Commandante  Azevido.  I  released  them  from 
their  confined  position  by  offering  them  a  passage  to  Coimbra,  and 
took  the  boat  in  tow.  They  were  making  their  way  to  Buenos 
Ayres,  or  some  town  in  the  Argentine  Confederation,  and  could 
they  have  escaped  over  the  southern  borders  of  Bolivia,  they 
might  have  reached  Salta  in  five  days ;  but  by  that  route  capture 
was  almost  inevitable,  and  as  they  had  taken  a  leading  part  in  the 
late  revolution,  which  had  failed,  they  would  have  paid  the  pen- 
alty with  their  lives.  There  was  but  one  road  open  to  them 
— through  the  north  to  Cuyaba ;  following  this,  they  had  traveled, 
when  we  met  thern,  two  thousand  two  hundred  miles  by  land  and 
river. 

^'■December  9th.  Have  just  returned  from  a  visit  to  the  'Grotto 
Inferno,'  which  is  north  of  the  fort,  in  the  same  range  of  hills,  and 
about  a  mile  and  a  half  from  the  river." 

For  the  convenience  of  carrying  instruments,  hydrometer  and 
barometer,  and  for  securing  any  specimens  to  be  found  of  an  in- 
teresting character,  we  went  in  boats,  which  made  the  distance 
three  miles.     We  could  not  approach  within  half  a  mile  of  the 

13 


194  THF  GKOTTO  INFERNO. 

base  of  the  hill  with  the  boats,  but,  plunging  through  mud  and 
water,  we  at  last  stood  at  the  entrance  of  the  grotto — a  fissure  or 
mouth  in  the  limestone  barely  wide  enough  to  creep  in. 

The  general  inclination  in  the  line  of  descent  was  about  30° 
from  the  perpendicular,  with  a  shaft  of  sixty  feet.  Descending 
cautiously  upon  hands  and  feet,  we  reached  the  margin  of  a  lake, 
and  found  ourselves  in  a  magnificent  irregularly  shaped  hall,  em- 
bracing an  area  of  about  two  thousand  feet.  Its  roof,  varying 
from  twenty  to  forty  feet  in  height,  rested  on  columns,  symmetrical 
and  grand,  as  if  designed  and  placed  there  by  accomplished  archi- 
tects and  skillful  workmen.  Between  the  columns  were  stalag- 
mites, rising  in  the  form  of  pillars,  four,  five,  and  six  feet  in  height, 
standing  at  regular  distances,  like  sentinels  suddenly  transformed 
into  stone ;  the  stalactical  depositions  were  of  the  most  beautiful 
and  fantastic  forms ;  and  as  the  crystallized  surfaces  of  sides,  roof, 
and  pillars  reflected  the  blue  lights  and  torches  of  our  men,  they 
glittered  and  shone  with  all  the  brilliancy  and  varied  hues  of 
gems.  What  ages  must  have  elapsed  while  the  great  work  had 
been  going  on  for  the  meeting,  drop  by  drop,  of  ascending  and 
descending  points,  imtil  those  stupendous  columns  were  formed ! 
Ours  was  a  noisy  party,  but  in  the  momentary  intervals  of  silence 
we  heard  the  unceasing  drip. 

Entrances,  half  concealed  below  the  water,  led  to  lateral  branch- 
es, which  we  did  not  attempt  to  explore.  Our  men  bathed  in  the 
sweet,  limpid  water  of  the  lake,  which  had  a  depth  of  eighteen 
feet ;  temperature  above  the  standard  of  our  hydrometer,  75°  05', 
while  that  of  the  air  was  80° ;  the  latter,  however,  undoubtedly 
increased  by  the  heat  of  the  torches  and  the  number  of  our  party. 
The  commandante  assured  me  that  this  lake  rises  and  falls  with 
the  periodical  variations  of  the  Paraguay.  We  toasted  the  divin- 
ities of  the  spot,  until,  warned  by  the  waning  lights,  we  gathered 
up  specimens,  and  began  a  scramble  for  the  mouth  of  the  grotto. 

It  was  an  undertaking,  with  the  encumbrance  of  a  few  stalac- 
tites ;  but  the  commander,  having  heard  me  express  a  desire  to  car- 
ry off  one  of  the  "  sentinels,"  had  assigned  to  his  men  what  seemed 
an  impracticable  task  with  the  means  at  hand — that  of  raising  one 
of  those  stalagmites  to  the  mouth  of  the  grotto.  The  feat  was  ac- 
complished in  safety ;  and  the  column,  weighing  two  hundred  and 
fifty  pounds,  was  carried  in  triumph  to  the  Water  Witch. 

One  of  the  Bolivian  ofiicers  accompanied  us  in  quite  an  elegant 
toilet,  embracing  a  pair  of  patent-leather  boots.     Such  parts  of 


DEPARTURE  FROM  COIMBRA.  195 

these  as  stood  by  him  after  the  descent  and  ascent  oi  the  grotto 
were  totally  "used  up"  in  the  tramp  to  the  boat.  Misfortune  and 
companionship  in  the  wilderness  had  made  us  intimate.  His  woe- 
fal  appearance  was  a  fruitful  subject  of  merriment  and  jest,  which 
he  bore  with  such  philosophy  and  good-humor  as  to  join  heartily 
in  the  laugh  against  himself. 

From  barometric  measurement,  the  highest  point  of  the  ridge 
overlooking  the  fort  was  four  hundred  and  fifty-one  feet  above  the 
level  of  the  river.  The  temperature  ranged  from  75°  to  93°  ;  by 
gauge,  water  fell  2.4  inches  per  day. 

When  about  to  leave  Coimbra,  I  received  a  letter  from  General 
Gregorio  Perez,  Colonel  Hilarion  Ortiz,  Lieutenant  Colonel  Ysi- 
doro  Reyes,  and  Doctor  Antonio  Zaveo,  the  four  Bolivian  officers, 
asking  a  passage  in  the  Water  Witch  to  Asuncion.  It  was  a 
pleasure  to  accede  to  this  request,  for  their  position  was  truly  for- 
lorn ;  but  in  doing  so,  I  asked  the  general  to  report  their  presence 
at  the  first  Paraguayan  town.  In  Francia's  time  they  would  in- 
evitably have  been  detained,  but  under  the  present  government 
the  result  was  what  I  anticipated ;  they  were  stopped  at  Salvador 
until  the  President  could  be  notified  of  their  arrival,  but  were 
eventually  permitted  to  leave  the  country,  and  went  down  to 
Buenos  Ayres  in  the  Water  Witch  when  she  descended  for  sup- 
plies.* 

On  the  11th  of  December,  we  parted,  with  regret,  from  our  friend 
the  kind  and  gentlemanly  Commandante  of  Coimbra,  but  with 
the  hope  of  seeing  him  again  when  we  return  in  a  small  steamer 
to  complete  the  exploration  of  the  upper  waters.  He  presented 
us  with  a  half-grown  jaguar,  and  several  rare  birds ;  one,  the 
"  Motu" — of  the  pheasant  family,  about  the  size  of  a  small  turkey 
— female  brown,  with  brown  and  white  crest;  male  black,  with 
black  crest — is  easily  domesticated,  and  dehcious  for  the  table  ;  it 
may  prove  a  valuable  acquisition  to  our  domestic  fowls.  The 
jaguar  is  fawn-colored,  with  dark  spots  encircled  by  a  black  ring, 
which,  at  a  glance,  distinguishes  this  animal  from  the  leopard. 
In  this  specimen  the  marks  are  bright  and  well  defined. 

These,  with  several  interesting  animals,  were  sent  home ;  some 
died  on  the  passage,  others  after  their  arrival  in  the  United  States. 
The  instructions  of  Mr.  Kennedy  gave  me  a  hope  that  my  contri- 
butions might  form  the  nucleus  of  a  national  zoological  collection, 
and  I  made  such  a  suggestion  to  his  successor,  but  it  met  with  no 

*  By  the  last  revolution,  September,  1857,  this  party  is  now  in  power. 


196  DESCENT  OF  THE  RIVER. 

encouragement,  as  Congress  had  made  no  appropriation  for  sucli 
an  object.  The  tiger  is  now  ahve  at  the  farm  of  the  Insane  Asy- 
lum near  "Washington,  and  exhibits  every  evidence  of  untamed 
ferocity. 

On  one  occasion  the  Water  Witch  was  visited  by  a  lady,  ac- 
companied by  a  lovely  little  girl.  The  jaguar  was  lying  in  her 
cage,  quietly  as  usual  when  undisturbed  or  not  hungry ;  but  at 
the  sight  of  this  child  she  sprang  up  with  a  fury  that  startled 
us.  Each  time  as  the  child  passed  and  repassed  we  witnessed  the 
same  exhibition  of  ferocity. 

"  Reached  the  Salinas,  to  which  I  have  alluded  in  ascending  the 
river ;  saw  many  Guaycuru  wigwams  swarming  with  busy  occu- 
pants, for  this  was  the  season  for  making  salt. 

"Anchored,  as  the  sun  was  setting  in  glorious  majesty,  amid  a 
sea  of  crimson,  gold,  blue,  rose.  How  gorgeous  are  these  tropical 
sunsets,  and  how  solemn,  as  all  nature,  with  short  interval,  sinks 
into  shadow  of  night ! 

"  Many  Guaycurus  came  on  board ;  they  had  never  seen  a 
steamer,  but  manifested  no  astonishment.  The  women  were  of  the 
ordinary  stature ;  men  above  it,  with  fine  muscular  development." 

'■'■December  14:th.  Anchored  off  Salvador."  As  I  expected,  the 
Bolivian  officers  were  detained  for  instructions  from  Asuncion. 
"Met  here  a  cacique,  and  some  men  of  the  Lengua  tribe.  I  per- 
suaded the  cacique  and  several  of  his  companions  to  sit  for  their 
daguerreotypes.  At  the  sight  of  them  they  showed  both  wonder 
and  delight ;  it  is  the  first  time  that  I  have  seen  the  La  Plata  In- 
dians exhibit  an  emotion." 

"  Co7icepcion,  December  Ibth.  I  have  endeavored,  but  in  vain, 
to  procure  horses  for  the  officers  and  myself  to  visit  the  '  Yer- 
bales.'  The  commandante,  in  our  ascent  of  the  river,  was  all  ci- 
vility ;  now  he  wears  a  long  face,  and  makes  many  excuses  for  not 
complying  with  my  request.  'The  horses,'  he  said,  'were  away.' 
I  extended  the  time  for  our  excursion ;  the  commandante  extend- 
ed the  distance  to  which  the  horses  had  been  sent.  I  am  puzzled, 
but  have  been  long  enough  in  the  country  to  know  that  the  coun- 
tenances and  deportment  of  officials  reflect  that  of  the  government. 
Something  is  wrong.  It  would  be  less  dangerous  for  the  poor 
commandante  to  spend  a  few  days  among  the  Indians  of  the  Chaco 
than  to  show  us  civility,  if  I  have,  however  unintentionally,  in- 
curred  the  displeasure  of  the  '  great  heart  of  Paraguay ;'  for  that 
influence  penetrates  every  artery  of  the  body  politic. 


SOMETHING  WRONG. 


197 


1,ENG0A    FNDIANS   AT   SALVADOR. 


"  It  is  astonishing  with  what  rapidity  the  commands  and  wishes 
of  government  are  here  transmitted  to  every  part  of  the  repubhc. 
From  guardia  to  piqueta,  from  piqueta  to  guardia,  these  Para- 
guay couriers  move  with  a  rapidity  that  would  rival  the  speed  of 
an  express  locomotive.  I  have  been  more  successful  in  procuring 
specimens  than  horses,  and  have  added  many  fine  birds  to  our 
collection. 

"  The  weather  during  the  last  few  days  has  been  intensely  hot ; 
thermometer  varying  from  73°  to  99° ;  and  this  heat  is  neither  de- 
bilitating nor  oppressive,  tempered  as  it  is  by  constant  breezes, 
south,  southeast,  southwest.  Thermometer  at  9  A.M.,  93° ;  wa- 
ter, 87°.  , 

"  Anchored  at  one  of  our  wooding  points  off  the  estancia  of 
Sefior  Antonio  Garcia.  The  Water  Witch  has  been  visited  by 
his  family,  and  many  others  of  the  neighborhood.  One  of  the  la- 
dies brought  with  her  a  yellow  parrot.  It  is  known  that  the  In- 
dians of  Paraguay  have  sometimes  succeeded  in  changing  the  col- 
or of  the  parrot  by  plucking  the  feathers  of  the  young  bird,  and 
pressing  into  the  pores  a  fluid,  which  imparts  its  hue  to  the  new 
plumage ;  but  senora  assured  me  that  hers  was  a  genuine  and 


198  ASUNCION.— A  STORM  BREWING. 

rare  species ;  so  rare  that  she  knew  of  but  one  other  in  all  the 
country.  The  bird  was  blind,  and  had  been  so  for  twelve  years, 
I  was  anxious  to  procure  a  specimen,  but  no  money  could  pur- 
chase this.  It  is  true,  the  lady  presented  it  to  me.  I,  however, 
fortunately  understood  that  it  was  a  Spanish  offer,  and  declined  it. 

"  At  one  or  two  of  the  bad  passes  we  have  discovered  that  our 
descent  was  well-timed.  The  water  has  fallen  four  and  a  half  feet 
since  our  upward  passage,  and  yet  there  is  sufficient  depth  for  a 
vessel  of  nine  feet  draught.  Four  feet  more,  and  the  river  will 
have  reached  its  minimum.  It  is  subject  in  the  month  of  January 
to  a  partial  rise,  similar  to  the  Repunie  of  the  Parana,  which  oc- 
curs in  November,  and  is  equal  to  five  or  six  feet.  While  at 
Asuncion  in  January,  1854,  between  the  12th  and  21st  of  the 
month,  it  rose  eleven  inches,  continuing  from  that  time  to  Febru- 
ary to  decrease,  as  previously  shown. 

"  December  20th,  1853.  Anchored  off  Asuncion ;  visited  almost 
immediately  by  the  port  captain,  whose  countenance,  like  that  of 
the  Governor  of  Concepcion,  is  ominous  of  a  brewing  storm. 
"What  can  it  be  ?" 


CHAPTEE  XII. 

The  Captain  of  the  Port. — Momentous  Question. — A  Call  at  the  Government 
House. — The  Secretary  of  State. — Visit  to  the  President. — The  Anniversary  of 
Paraguayan  Independence. — Minor  Explorations. — Congress  of  1812. — The 
Consuls. — Francia. — Provisional  Junta. — Another  Congress. — President  Lo- 
pez.— The  Constitution. — Ignorance  of  the  People. — Society. — Senoritas  and 
Flowers.— Paraguay  Tobacco  and  Smokers. — The  Siesta. — Another  Call  upon 
the  President. — The  Vaquerano. — A  Tour  into  Paraguay. — SeiiorDon  Jaimi  Cor- 
vallan. — Periju. — Senora  Dalmacia. — Villa  Rica. — Don  Louis  Homan. — The 
Tcbiquari. — The  Recado. — Pucsta  del  Estado  de  Jesus  Maria. — The  Dinner. — 
The  Peripo. — Mr.  Francis  Wisner. — Sefior  Sergcnte  Lopez. — Senora  Clara. — 
Manufacture  of  Cigars. — The  Taquari. — Fertility  of  the  Country. — Medical  Men. 
— Healthful  Climate. — Puebla  Carmen. — Don  Mariana. — The  Yiin. — El  Secre- 
tario. — Ytapua. 

The  captain  of  the  port  is  an  important  personage  at  Asuncion ; 
he  not  only  notes  all  arrivals  and  departures  by  water,  but  is  a 
confidential  friend  of  the  President.  His  every  look  and  act  are 
watched  by  the  Paraguayans  as  reflecting  that  of  his  Excellency. 
I  found  him,  on  my  return,  not  wanting  in  ofi&cial  courtesy,  but 
depressingly  solemn.  At  last  he  asked  a  great  and  momentous 
question. 


A  MOMENTOUS  QUESTION.  I99 

"  How  far  did  you  go?" 

"  I  ascended  to  Corumba  in  Brazil." 

"  Then  you  went  beyond  the  limits  of  Paraguay  ?" 

Ilere  was  a  key  to  the  mystery.  I  now  understood  why  all  the 
horses  of  Concepcion  had  so  suddenly  disappeared ;  why  the  good 
commandante,  so  zealously  anxious  to  serve  us  in  ascending,  was 
so  officially  cold  in  descending. 

I  have  alluded  to  the  celeritv  with  which  intellio;ence  is  trans- 
mitted  through  Paraguay,  by  means  of  guardias  and  piquetes. 
The  port  captain  knew  very  well  that  the  expedition  had  entered 
the  Brazilian  waters,  and  I  understood  that,  in  questioning  me  as 
to  the  extent  of  our  explorations,  he  only  acted  under  instructions, 
and  that  my  answer  would  be  duly  reported. 

I  said,  "  having  completed  the  survey  of  the  river  throughout 
Paraguayan  territory,  and  finding  that  we  were  on  the  borders  of 
Brazil,  I  availed  myself  of  the  imperial  permission,  and  ascended 
to  Corumba.  It  is  true,  that  in  my  interviews  and  conversations 
with  the  President  on  this  subject,  he  raised  objections  to  my  going 
beyond  the  limits  of  Paraguay,  but  I  always  combated  them,  and 
as  this  official  letter  was  sent  after  my  last  conversation  with  him, 
I  concluded  from  its  tenor  that  he  had  yielded  the  point.  I  know 
that  his  Excellency  will  be  gratified  at  the  result  of  my  work,  for 
I  can  give  him  information  as  to  neighboring  territories  which  he 
has  never  before  received."  I  then  showed  the  official  the  Presi- 
dent's letter.     He  looked  disturbed,  and  bade  me  adios. 

I  called  as  soon  as  possible  at  the  government  house.  The  offi- 
cer in  attendance  announced  my  visit,  but  returned  immediately, 
saying, 

"  His  Excellency  is  too  unwell  to  receive  you,  but  requests  that 
you  will  call  on  the  Secretary  of  State." 

"  Express  to  his  Excellency  my  regret  at  his  indisposition,  and 
say  that  I  have  no  official  business  with  the  Secretary  of  State ; 
but  I  will  call  on  him." 

The  Secretary  of  State  was  profoundly  polite,  but  as  solemn  as 
if  under  condemnation  to  be  shot  for  treason. 

"  He  hoped  that  I  had  enjoyed  the  trip."  The  secretary  was 
disposed  to  regard  it  as  a  pleasure  excursion. 

I  replied,  "  I  have  received  pleasure  from  the  exploration  of 
the  river  beyond  Asuncion,  and  much  of  this  pleasure  arises  from 
a  knowledge  of  the  success  of  the  work  so  far ;  for  this  success  I 
owe  much  to  the  liberality  of  the  Paraguayan  government,  and 


200  INTERVIEW  WITH  PRESIDENT  LOPEZ. 

avail  myself  of  this  occasion  to  express  my  thanks  for  the  hospi- 
tality and  official  consideration  with  which  we  have  been  received 
at  every  point  upon  the  river.  I  regret  that  the  indisposition  of 
his  Excellency  the  President,  obliges  me  to  wait  for  the  pleasure 
of  expressing  to  him  my  gratitude." 

The  secretary  relaxed  somewhat  from  the  rigidity  of  counte- 
nance and  manner  which  he  had  maintained  since  my  entrance. 
At  this  propitious  moment  I  rose  and  said  "  good-morning." 

I  understood  now  the  whole  question;  in  entering  Brazilian 
territory  I  had  touched  the  dignity  of  the  republic,  periled  its 
peace,  and  it  was  considered  necessary  to  make  me  aware  of  this. 

After  the  lapse  of  a  day  or  two  the  President's  recovery  was  in- 
timated to  me,  and  I  called  at  the  government  house,  was  admit- 
ted, and  found  his  Excellency  seated  as  usual  at  the  circular  table. 
The  conversation  soon  turned  upon  the  extent  of  our  explorations, 
when  his  Excellency  became  excited.  One  would  have  supposed 
that  I  had  let  "  Los  Portugases^' — as  he  called  the  Brazilians — in 
upon  him. 

He  "knew,"  he  said,  "that  the  imperial  government  would  de- 
mand the  privilege  accorded  to  the  United  States  expedition." 

I  said,  "  I  think  your  Excellency  takes  a  mistaken  view  of  the 
question.  Our  explorations  can  not  be  assumed  as  a  precedent  to 
do  more  than  the  expedition  has  aimed  to  accomplish,  and  if  Bra- 
zil should  demand  the  same  privilege  it  would  be  absurd.  The 
surveys  of  the  river  have  been  carefully  made.  The  results  will 
be  published,  and  the  imperial  government  will  receive  the  same 
benefit  that  any  other  might  expect." 

I  reminded  him  of  our  last  conversation  on  the  subject,  also  of 
his  official  letter,  which  L  regarded  as  an  abandonment  of  all  ob- 
jections to  my  ascending  as  far  as  I  could,  and  then  said, 

"  I  am  happy  how  to  present  your  Excellency  with  a  sketch  of 
the  river,  throughout  the  limits  of  Paraguay,  of  perhaps  far  great- 
er accuracy  than  any  thing  you  have  before  seen." 

He  assured  me  repeatedly,  during  this  visit,  of  his  high  consid- 
eration for  me  officially  and  personally ;  and  from  this  time  my  re- 
lations with  him,  until  again  disturbed,  were  of  a  far  more  friendly 
and  confidential  character  than  they  had  previously  been.  A  few 
days  later  I  had  an  interview  with  him  on  some  other  business ; 
he  adverted  playfully, to  the  subject  of  our  difficulty,  and  said, 
"We  are  now  as  good  friends  as  ever." 

The  25th  of  December  is-  the  anniversary  of  Paraguayan  inde- 


ANNIVERSARY  OF  INDEPENDENCE.  £01 

pendence,  and  is  therefore,  in  that  country,  both  a  political  and 
religious  festival.  Accompanied  by  some  of  the  officers  of  the 
Water  Witch,  I  called  to  pay  my  respects  to  the  President,  who 
was,  as  usual,  before  the  circular  table,  and  in  full  uniform.  He 
requested  us  to  be  seated  on  his  right ;  and  we  took  possession  of 
one  of  the  rows  of  chairs,  to  which  I  have  previously  alluded  as 
being  always  stationary.  Opposite,  on  a  corresponding  row,  were 
seated  some  Paraguayans.  All  was  solemn  and  still.  I  ventured 
to  break  the  silence  by  congratulating  his  Excellency  upon  the 
prosperity  and  peace  of  Paraguay.  In  reply  he  referred,  in  com- 
plimentary terms,  to  the  United  States,  to  their  rapid  advance- 
ment, and  their  prominent  position  among  the  powers  of  the  earth. 
Neither  on  this  or  any  similar  occasion  did  I  observe  the  presence 
of  ladies ;  strong-minded  women  have  then  here  both  political  and 
social  wrongs. 

The  wheels  of  the  Water  Witch  had  become  so  much  damaged, 
that  it  was  necessary  to  make  some  temporary  repairs  before  she 
could  attempt  the  passage  to  Montevideo  for  provisions,  and  a 
more  thorough  overhauling.  When  ready  she  was  dispatched 
with  such  officers  as  were  absolutely  necessary,  while  others  were 
detailed  for  various  duties  of  the  work  in  Paraguay. 

The  small  steamer  was  now  completed,  and  assigned  to  Lieu- 
tenant Murdaugh,  who  was  to  explore  a  river  which  was  said  to 
flow  from  the  Chaco  into  the  Paraguay,  sixty  miles  from  Asuncion. 
Finding  no  such  stream  he  entered  an  arm  of  the  Paraguay,  some 
distance  above ;  ascended  it  for  fifteen  miles,  and  discovered  that 
it  there  terminated  in  grass  and  camelotes,  having  no  current  to 
indicate  it  being  a  river.  This  was  doubtless  the  supposed  tribu- 
tary, and  is  but  another  evidence  of  the  prevailing  ignorance  of 
the  geography  of  the  opposite  territory,  even  in  the  vicinity  of  the 
capital. 

To  obtain  some  information  as  to  the  resources  and  cultivation 
of  this  country,  I  determined  to  go  into  the  interior ;  following  a 
route  that  would  lead  through  the  most  populous  districts,  and  to 
some  of  the  old  settlements  of  the  Jesuits,  among  them  Ytapua, 
now  called  Encarnacion — from  which  point,  north,  the  Parana 
forms  the  eastern  boundary  of  the  republic.  While  engaged  in 
preparation  for  these  new  movements  of  the  expedition  I  had 
again  an  opportunity  of  seeing  something  of  the  capital,  the  cen- 
tre of  trade,  politics,  and  social  life.  Its  population  is  estimated 
at  from  ten  to  twenty  thousand — certaialy  a  wide  difference  in 


202 


CASPAR  FRANCIA. 


numbers ;  but,  from  tlie  absence  of  statistical  information,  or  ratli- 
er  from  the  objection  to  making  any  thing  known  to  strangers,  a 
foreigner  is  left  very  much  to  the  result  of  his  own  observations. 
I  should  say  that  it  contains  about  twelve  thousand  inhabitants. 
The  non-intercourse  policy  of  Francia  and  Eosas  has  operated  here 
as  banefully  as  in  many  other  towns  of  La  Plata.  With  no  motive 
for  exertion,  the  habit  is  lost,  and  yet  I  found  the  Paraguayans 
quick  to  avail  themselves  of  the  information  and  intelligence  of 
others. 


GASPAK  PRANCIA. 


The  independence  of  this  country  was  acknowledged  by  Buenos 
Ayres  in  1811 ;  a  Congress  assembled  in  1812,  and  confided  the 
administration  of  affairs  to  two  consuls,  Yegros  and  Francia. 
Yegros  possessed  some  military  talent,  but  was  idle  and  illiterate. 
He  left  the  management  of  affairs  entirely  in  the  hands  of  Francia, 
who  regulated  the  finances,  the  military,  and  the  administration 
of  justice  with  so  much  address,  filling  every  public  place  with  his 


POLICY  OF  FRANC  I  A.  203 

own  creatures,  that,  in  1814,  he  succeeded  in  having  himself 
named  as  dictator  for  three  years,  and  at  the  expiration  of  that 
time  for  life.  He  was  intended  for  the  Church,  and  graduated  at 
the  University  of  Cordova;  but,  having  more  taste  for  jurispru- 
dence than  for  theology,  he  took  the  degree  of  Doctor  of  Laws,  in 
which  profession  he  attained  both  popularity  and  distinction. 
Providence  granted  him  a  long  life.  He  was  fifty  when  he  was 
made  supreme  ruler  of  Paraguay,  and  had,  by  some  years,  passed 
the  period  assigned  to  man  when  death  closed  his  career.*  The 
iniquity  of  his  rule  was  progressive,  and  his  apologists — for  even 
Francia  has  found  them — declare  that,  as  a  lawyer,  and  during  the 
first  years  of  his  dictatorship,  he  displayed  integrity  and  generous 
traits ;  that  the  excessive  severity  of  his  character  was  developed 
by,  or  was  the  consequence  of  the  conspiracies  that,  constantly 
menaced  his  political  power.  It  is  almost  impossible  to  arrive  at 
the  ruling  princij)le  of  his  action,  or  even  to  obtain  reliable  infor- 
mation as  to  the  acts  of  the  later  years  of  his  dictatorship.  No 
records  were  kept,  and  all  orders  were  returned  to  him,  with  "  ex- 
ecuted" marked  on  the  margin,  and  were  then  destroyed.  We 
can  only  believe  that  cunning,  not  principle,  restrained  his  de- 
signs, until  the  habit  of  submission  on  the  part  of  the  Paraguay- 
ans was  fixed. 

It  was  his  favorite  maxim  that  "  liberty  should  be  proportioned 
to  civilization,  and  that  the  exercise  of  it  was  prejudicial  where 
not  demanded  as  a  public  necessity."  The,  doctrine  of  non-inter- 
course was  adopted,  he  declared,  to  save  Paraguay  from  the 
anarchy  that  decimated  the  population  of  other  parts  of  La  Plata, 
and  from  the  ambitious  designs  of  Buenos  Ayres,  who  sought  to 
exercise  a  dominating  influence  over  the  whole  basin. 

Ytapua  on  the  Parana,  and  Nembucu  on  the  Paraguay,  were 
open  to  trade,  or  rather  to  change  of  commodities,  by  special  li- 
cense, Francia  being  the  principal,  or,  in  fact,  the  only  merchant. 
When  he  needed  foreign  articles,  a  permit  was  sent  to  Corrientes 
for  a  vessel  to  enter  Nembucu.  An  invoice  of  the  cargo  was  for- 
warded to  him,  upon  which  he  placed  his  own  valuation;  and 
payment  was  made  in  yerba,  an  article  in  such  demand  in  the 
lower  provinces  that  the  people  were  glad  to  get  it  upon  any  terms. 
■'.  After  his  death,  which  occurred  on  December  25th,  1810,  a 
Provisional  Junta  was  appointed  to  administer  the  government 

*  After  his  death  there  was  found  among  his  papers  a  list  of  fifty  persons  to  be 
executed. 


204  RISE  OF  LOPEZ. 

until  a  Congress  could  be  convoked.  At  tlie  end  of  four  months, 
finding  the  members  of  this  body  indisposed  to  yield  up  the  au- 
thority confided  to  them,  the  people  rose,  went  to  the  government 
house,  and  forced  them  to  resign.  At  the  end  of  eighteen  days 
an  extraordinary  Congress  of  four  hundred  members  was  assem- 
bled, and  the  administration  of  affairs  was  confided  to  two  con- 
suls, Carlo  Antonio  Lopez  and  Marianna  Eoque  Alonzo,  The 
new  magistrates  entered  upon  the  exercise  of  their  functions  in 
May,  1841 ;  the  first  with  a  salary  of  fonr  thousand  dollars  per 
annum,  the  second  with  three  thousand.  In  1844,  Congress  hav- 
ing decided  that  the  consular  government  should  be  replaced  by 
a  president  as  chief  magistrate,  Seiior  Lopez  was  elected  for  ten 
years,  and  installed  March  13th,  1845,  with  a  salary  of  $8000  per 
annum.  There  wa^  no  provision  limiting  the  re-election  of  the 
same  individual.  Consequently,  in  1854,  he  was  again  chosen  for 
another  term.  The  age  of  the  candidate,  before  fixed  at  forty -five, 
was  changed  to  thirty -three ;  a  move  made,  it  is  supposed,  by  the 
President  by  way  of  securing  the  succession  for  his  eldest  son, 
General  Lopez. 

Paraguay  had  a  Constitution  when  Francia  was  made  dictator. 
She  has  one  now,  perhaps,  for  I  could  learn  nothing  ofiicially. 
But  that  avails  nothing.  The  Constitution  is  interpreted ;  the  ju- 
diciary, elections,  and  congresses  are  alike  controlled  by  the  Pres- 
ident, who  governs  with  an  authority  as  unquestioned  as  if  he 
were  supreme  Dictator.  The  commandantes  of  each  jurisdiccion 
are  appointed  by  him.  These  officers,  in  turn,  nominate  the  dele- 
gates for  Congress,  allowing  a  certain  representation  to  each  ^jar- 
tido  ;  and  the  Congress  chooses  the  President,  who  is  thus  elected 
per  se. 

There  are  few  in  this  country  who  comprehend  the  first  princi- 
ples of  civil  liberty.  Pitilessly,  and  with  wonderful  astuteness, 
Francia  first  debilitated  the  organic  springs  of  their  political  sys- 
tem, feeble  at  best,  and  eventually  destroyed  its  strength  and 
life.  So  far  as  I  could  learn,  the  administration  of  President  Lo- 
pez is  unstained  by  crime ;  but  there  is  no  opposition  to  his  au- 
thority ;  there  are  no  political  conspiracies  to  test  the  temper  or 
integrity  of  his  rule.  An  unquestioning  and  timorous  submission 
to  his  decrees,  a  reverential  awe  and  demeanor  in  his  presence,  are 
observed  by  all,  however  high  their  official  or  social  position. 
Paraguay  has  no  precedent,  historic  or  traditional,  on  which  to 
base  a  more  enlightened  government ;  and  her  chief  magistrate, 


POLICY  OF  LOPEZ.  205 

though  a  man  of  natural  abilities  and  some  education,  loves  pow- 
er, and  is  waiy  and  unscrupulous  in  the  exercise  of  it.  He  talks 
much  of  "the  Eepublic,"  and  of  his  desire  to  improve  the  condition 
of  the  people;  but  he  needs  the  experience  which  must  come  from 
friction  with  foreign  governments,  the  instruction  of  rebuke,  and 
the  bold  imsellish  energy  of  Urquiza,  to  become  an  enlightened 
nder.  He  has  made  some  effort  for  the  establishment  of  schools, 
at  least  in  Asuncion ;  but  it  is  a  favorite  theory  with  him  that  a 
sudden  or  rapid  transition  from  the  present  primitive  state  of  the 
Paraguayans  would  operate  unfavorably  to  the  harmony  of  the 
government  and  the  peace  of  the  Republic.  He  gives  them  a 
little  learning  cautiously  and  slowly. 

The  better  class  of  society  in  Asuncion  consists  of  a  few  families 
of  Spanish  origin,  among  whom  there  are  not  many  individuals 
who  could  meet,  according  to  our  ideas,  a  good  educational  stand- 
ard, though  the  men  possess  a  vast  deal  of  suav iter  in  modo,  and 
the  women  are  graceful  and  talk  amazingly  well.  They  have 
much  talent  for  narration,  and  will  give  jaguar  and  Indian  stories 
with  infinite  spirit. 

Madam  Lopez  resided  at  a  quinta,  about  six  miles  from  the 
town.  The  distance  afforded  a  pleasant  ride,  and  we  were  always 
kindly  received  by  the  seiiora  and  her  fair  daughters,  who  have 
all  the  ease  of  manner  and  tact  which  is  so  attractive  in  the  Span- 
ish-American women.  In  the  half  dozen  families  of  the  city  that 
formed  the  circle  of  our  acquaintance  we  were  always  hospitably 
received,  and  with  several  of  them  our  social  intercourse  was  truly 
agreeable.  Foreign  articles  of  female  attire  are  replacing  the  prim- 
itive fabrics,  which  the  arbitrary  decrees  of  Francia  obliged  all  to 
use.  The  laces  of  France  and  Belgium  are  superseding  the  elab- 
orate domestic  cotton  productions  of  earlier  days,  which  are  now 
only  used  as  trimmings  for  bed  furniture,  or  are  bought  by  for- 
eigners as  curious  sj)ecimens  of  female  handicraft.  In  the  houses 
of  the  wealthy,  at  Asuncion,  the  house-linen  is  tastefully  decorated 
with  these  domestic  laces. 

At  the  capital,  and  indeed  at  all  the  river  towns  of  La  Plata,  a 
pretty  custom  prevails  among  the  senoritas,  of  presenting  every 
visitor  wit^  flowers.  Their  gardens  may  not  display  a  large  col- 
lection, but  if  they  produce  but  a  single  sprig  of  sweet  odor  it  is 
given  to  the  first  comer.  In  calling  at  different  houses  in  the 
course  of  the  afternoon,  the  visitor  would  accumulate  quite  a  num- 
ber of  bouquets,  did  he  not  learn  from  experience  that,  to  save 


206  SOCIETY  IN  ASUNCION. 

himself  from  a  broadside  of  graceful  reproaches,  it  would  be  ad- 
visable to  conceal  or  part  with  the  flowers  of  Senorita  Maria  be- 
fore entering  the  presence  of  Senorita  Theresa.  Each  lady  must 
suppose  that  she  is  the  sole  object  of  the  afternoon's  homage. 

We  were  invariably  offered  refreshments,  either  mate  or  En- 
glish ale,  which  is  very  -popular  among  the  Paraguayans,  and 
throughout  the  river  towns — or  the  panales^  a  very  refreshing  do- 
mestic drink,  made  of  the  white  of  eggs  and  sugar  beaten  togeth- 
er, and  formed  into  cakes  of  a  cylindrical  shape,  looking  like  a 
delicate  honeycomb.  A  little  negro  presents  the  visitor  with  a 
plate  of  these,  always  with  a  glass  of  water ;  the  panales  immersed 
in  the  water  dissolves  immediately,  and  affords  a  simple  but  de- 
licious beverage.  The  servant  after  offering  this  goes  out,  but 
soon  returns  with  ih&hrasero — a  small  brass  vessel  containing  a 
few  coals  of  fire — and  a  plate  of  cigars.  This  last  hospitality  is 
offered  in  every  house,  however  humble  its  pretensions  in  other 
respects ;  and  all  men,  women,  and  children — delicate,  refined  girls, 
and  young  masters  who  would  not  with  us  be  promoted  to  the 
dignity  of  pantaloons — smoke  with  a  gravity  and  gusto  that  is  ir- 
resistibly ludicrous  to  a  foreigner.  My  son  sometimes  accompa- 
nied me  in  these  visits,  and  was  always  greatly  embarrassed  by 
the  pressing  offer  of  cigars.  I  made  his  excuses  by  saying,  "  Smok- 
ing is  a  practice  we  consider  injurious  for  children."  "  Si,  seiior," 
the  Paraguayan  would,  reply,  "  with  all  other  tobacco,  but  not 
with  that  of  Paraguay." 

On  no  occasion,  while  in  Asuncion,  were  we  invited  to  "  dine 
out,"  or  take  tea;  and  dinners  by  invitation,  or  meals  taken 
socially  with  other  families,  are  unknown.  I  had  frequently  visit- 
ors while  at  breakfast,  but  never  could  prevail  on  one  to  join  me 
at  table.  The  Paraguayans  rise  early,  take  mate  and  cigars,  then 
visit  or  transact  business  during  the  cool  of  the  morning.  At 
midday  they  dine,  then  retire  for  a  siesta^  during  which  the  streets 
are  deserted,  every  store  and  dwelling  closed,  and  a  profound  still- 
ness reigns  through  the  town.  After  a  few  hours  the  houses  are 
reopened,  cigars  and  mate  are  again  served,  and  each  one  goes  to 
his  daily  vocation.  Eiding,  visiting,  or  walking  occvipies  the  time 
from  sundown  till  nine  o'clock,  when  supper  finishes  the  labors 
and  enjoyments  of  the  day. 

I  called  to  inform  the  President  of  my  desire  to  visit  the  inte- 
rior of  his  beautiful  country ;  he  replied,  courteously,  that  a  kind 
reception  awaited  me. 


TRIP  TO  THE  INTERIOR.  207 

"Will  your  Excellency  tell  me  whetber  a  passport  is  neces- 
sary ?" 

He  hesitated — "  Not  necessary,  but  it  may  facilitate  your  move- 
ments if  questioned  by  some  official,  who  would  understand  noth- 
ing you  could  say  so  well  as  a  passport." 

The  paper  was  prepared,  but  demanded  only  on  one  occasion, 
on  the  extreme  eastern  frontier  of  the  Republic,  where,  as  the 
President  had  foreseen,  it  was  more  useful  than  words. 

Our  next  step  was  to  engage  a  vaqueano^  an  indispensable  at- 
tendant to  a  traveling  party ;  for  he  is  guide,  hostler,  banker,  and 
interpreter.  The  last  is  a  very  important  service,  for  in  many 
parts  of  the  interior  of  Paraguay  Spanish  is  as  little  understood  as 
English  or  any  other  foreign  language.  Guarani  is  almost  uni- 
versally spoken,  and  even  the  higher  classes,  who  use  Spanish 
habitually,  understand  and  speak  the  Indian  tongue  with  facility. 

"  Cargaro"  horses  were  also  an  absolute  requisite  for  carrying 
our  instruments  for  latitude  and  longitude,  barometric  measure- 
ments, daguerreotypes,  and  portfolios  for  botanic  specimens ;  to 
say  nothing  of  a  change  of  clothing  and  bedding  for  each  individ- 
ual of  the  party.  The  latter,  however,  was  not  very  bulky,  being 
merely  an  India-rubber  poncho. 

A  hint  from  the  President  would  be  quite  sufficient  to  insure 
kind  treatment  to  strangers  at  the  hands  of  every  Paraguayan. 
But,  independent  of  any  influence  the  expression  of  his  Excel- 
lency's will  might  have,  I  really  believe  hospitality  to  be  a  na- 
tional virtue.  As  there  are  no  public  houses,  travelers  must  de- 
pend exclusively  on  private  entertainment.  I  instructed  the  va- 
queano  to  make  remuneration  on  all  occasions  in  the  course  of 
our  route.  It  was  invariably  offered,  but  in  a  majority  of  instances 
declined. 

On  the  6th  of  February,  1854,  in  the  afternoon,  our  party 
moved  off,  much  to  the  amusement  of  a  crowd  of  men,  women, 
and  children,  who  had  assembled  to  see  sailors  on  horseback.  A 
gentleman  who  knew  the  country  thoroughly  had  given  me  some 
general  written  directions  as  to  the  best  places  for  siesta  and  for 
stopping  at  night.  The  first  named  was  the  Estancia  Corvallan, 
about  eighteen  miles  from  Asuncion.  Many  estancieros  in  Para- 
guay reside  permanently  in  the  country,  where  they  have  spacious 
adobe  houses.  Don  Jaimi  Corvallan  was  one  of  this  class  of 
country  gentlemen,  and  one  of  wealth  and  respectability.  A 
friend  having  notified  him  of  our  intended  visit,  he  came  out  to 


208  I>ON  JAIMI  CORVALLAN. 

meet  us  as  we  rode  up  to  the  house,  invited  us  cordially  to  enter, 
and  presented  us  to  his  wife  and  daughter,  who  welcomed  us 
kindly,  and  busied  themselves  with  the  preparation  of  what 
proved  a  sumptuous  supper. 

Paraguayans  of  all  classes  observe  the  sensible  and  economical 
habit  of  serving  one  dish  at  a  time,  though  sometimes  a  single  ar- 
ticle of  food  will  furnish  material  for  half  a  dozen  courses.  All 
are  varied  by  nice  cookery. 

On  the  present  occasion  we  had  "  pucharo"  (stewed  beef  with 
vegetables),  "asado"  (roast  beef),  poultry,  mandioca,  and  a  "dulce" 
— a  term  comprehending  a  variety  ^of  sweet  things — in  this  case 
a  simple  but  very  nice  preparation  of  milk  and  sugar.  After  ci- 
gars and  a  chat  with  Don  Jaimi  we  were  shown  to  our  sleeping 
apartments,  where  we  found  beautifully  clean  beds  and  white  cot- 
ton hammocks,  with  elaborate  net- work  trimmings. 

At  an  early  hour  the  following  morning  we  were  astir  and 
ready  for  a  start.  The  servant  who  awakened  us  served  at  the 
same  time  a  mate ;  and  when  we  were  ready  to  mount,  a  little  ne- 
gress  came  forward  with  a  large  goblet  of  foaming  milk,  fresh  and 
warm  from  the  cow.  Our  kind  host  accompanied  us  for  some 
distance.  And  now  realizing  that  we  had  fairly  commenced  our 
journey  into  the  interior  of  the  country  we  felt  much  pleased  with 
this  first  experience  of  its  hospitalities. 

The  road  we  followed  was  good,  but  sandy,  and  lay  through  a 
populous  caynpo*  After  passing  Ytigua,  a  pueUita^  with  a  neat 
little  chapel,  we  reached  Periju  in  about  three  hours,  and  stopped 
for  breakfast.  This  village  is  beautifully  situated  at  the  base  of  a 
ridge  of  wooded  hills,  and  has  its  plaza  and  church.  To  the  east 
ranged  lofty  sierras,  and  between  them  and  the  serranias  lay  the 
fertile  campo  through  which  we  had  traveled,  winding  beyond 
reach  of  the  eye,  and  dotted  with  estancias  and  herds  of  horned 
cattle,  or  with  small  fields  of  corn,  tobacco,  and  mandioca. 

The  meal  at  Periju,  which  served  both  for  breakfast  and  din- 
ner, consisted  of  beef,  chickens,  and  mandioca ;  the  latter  a  gen- 
eral substitute  through  the  country  for  bread.  Our  route  from 
this  place  still  lay  through  a  level  grazing  country,  its  monotony 
relieved  by  superb  woodlands.  Passing  the  village  of  Paraguayri, 
we  stopped  for  the  night  at  the  house  of  Seiiora  Dalmacia  Fernan- 
dez.    Festive  sounds  reached  us  as  we  approached — the  jingling 

*  Campo,  level  country,  in  contradistinction  to  sierra,  mountains,  and  serranias, 
hills,  or  spurs.  •  t  Puehlita,  hamlet. 


SENORA  DALMACIA  FERNANDEZ. 


209 


of  guitars  and  dancing.  We  had  disturbed  a  merry-making,  and 
met  with  a.  cold  reception.  It  was  too  late  to  look  for  other 
quarters,  and,  fatigued  by  a  long  day's  ride,  I  was  indisposed  to 
excuse  this  want  of  hospitality  by  remembering  that  our  arrival 
had  interrupted  the  dance.  I  revenged  myself  by  an  exhibition 
of  independence,  which  was,  I  fear,  all  lost  on  the  seiiora ;  for,  re- 


COSTtTMES  IN   THE   INTEKIOR. 


freshed  by  a  bath  in  a  small  river  that  meandered  through  the 
campo,  and  wrapped  in  poncho  and  shawl,  I  settled  myself  for  the 
night,  quite  unmindful  of  after  invitations  to  supper  and  bed. 
The  vaqueano  had  especial  instructions  to  pay  for  all  accommoda- 
tions which  the  party  received;  and  at  five  o'clock  the  next  morn- 
ing we  left  with  a  smile,  a  courtes}^,  and  an  adios  senor,  from 

14 


210  DON  LOUIS  HOMAN. 

Senora  Dalmacia,  that  would  have  "  taken  aback"  an  old  Span- 
iard. But  I  was  unmoved,  and  went  on  my  way  with,  a  stiif  bow, 
and  a  determination  never  again  to  seek  shelter  from  storm  or 
starvation  at  the  house  of  this  fair  widow. 

We  passed  a  wooded  spur  of  the  sierra,  and,  after  a  ride  of 
twenty-one  miles,  hungry  and  fatigued,  stopped  at  the  Estancia  del 
Estado,  about  one  mile  from  the  Eio  Hondo,  a  small  tributary  of  the 
Tibiquari.  Here  two  of  our  cargaro  horses,  with  the  daguerreo- 
type instruments,  broke  down,  but  we  were  furnished  with  fresh 
animals  to  take  us  to  the  house  of  Senor  Jose  Dolores,  our  rest- 
ing-place for  the  night. 

Passing  the  Capilla*  Ybitimi,  we  arrived,  about  dusk,  at  Don 
Jose's.  He  was  absent,  but  we  were  kindly  received  by  the  son, 
who  hired  us  fresh  horses  to  Villa  Eica.  As  early  on  the  follow- 
ing morning  as  the  laziness  of  our  vaqueano  would  allow,  we  were 
on  the  road,  and  in  a  short  time  reached  the  Tibiquarimini  (Little 
Tibiquari),  the  principal  branch  of  a  river  of  that  name.  After 
fording  this  stream,  which  was  two  hundred  yards  wide,  and  from 
two  to  three  feet  deep,  we  entered  the  Partido  Ytape,  and  break- 
fasted at  the  estancia  of  Senor  Manuel  Vasquez.  Three  hours  later 
.we  arrived  at  "Villa  Eica." 

Having  letters  for  a  Portuguese  merchant,  Don  Louis  Homan, 
I  at  once  sought  his  residence,  wishing  to  consult  him  about  quar- 
ters for  our  party.  He  insisted  that  as  many  as  could  be  accom- 
modated should  remain  at  his  house ;  while  for  the  others  he  found 
lodgings.  I  had  no  wish  to  impose  upon  his  kindness,  but  he 
would  only  compromise  matters  by  agreeing  to  find  rooms  for  us 
elsewhere,  provided  we  would  take  our  meals  with  him.  The 
hospitality  of  Don  Louis  was  only  surpassed  by  his  industry  and 
intelligence.  Though  an  active  merchant,  horticulture,  mechanics, 
and  the  rearing  of  horses  occupied  his  leisure  hours.  A  garden 
well  stocked  with  delicious  fruits,  improved  machinery  for  crushing 
sugar,  and  some  fine  horses,  were  shown  us  with  evident  pride. 
His  racers  were  really  noble  animals,  though  they  may  not  have 
possessed  the  "blood  and  heels"  of  Eclipse  or  Henry.  Senor 
Homan  also  takes  an  intelligent  interest  in  the  native  products  of 
the  country.  His  house,  like  all  those  of  the  better  class  at  Villa 
Eica,  was  of  adobe,  and  of  one  story.  The  furniture  was  made  of  t 
Paraguay  woods,  such  as  Morosimo,  and  Tatayba,  both  of  which 
have  a  very  fine  texture,  and  are  susceptible  of  a  high  polish. 

*  Capilla,  a  chapel  surrounded  by  a  few  dwellings. 


VILLA  RICA.  211 

The  Morosimo  is  not  -unlike  maliogany ;  the  Tatayba  is  of  a  deli- 
cate straw  color.  I  am  indebted  to  him  for  some  beautiful  spe- 
cimens of  the  gum  "  Mbatitimbaby,"  which  is  amber -colored, 
clear,  and  apparently  as  hard  as  crystal.  It  is  soluble  only  in 
nitric  acid. 

Villa  Eica  is  equidistant  from  the  river  Tibiquari  on  the  east, 
and  its  tributary  the  Tibiquarimini  on  the  west.  Its  position  is 
picturesque,  being  surrounded  by  fertile  plains,  while  to  the  east 
and  west  range  low  mountains  covered  with  noble  forests.  It  has 
about  two  thousand  inhabitants,  and  is  the  principal  depot  for  all 
the  products  of  the  neighboring  country.  These  are  purchased  by 
its  merchants,  and  conveyed  to  Asuncion  in  ox-wagons  at  the 
rate  of  12|-  cents  the  aroba.  Each  cart  carries  one  hundred  arobas, 
and  consumes  twenty  days  in  the  travel  to  and  from  the  capital, 
without  allowing  for  any  detention  there  or  upon  the  road.  Ow- 
ing to  these  embarrassments,  and  the  exactions  and  monopolies  of 
the  government,  the  resources  of  this  region  are  undeveloped. 

The  Jesuits  had  here  an  important  establishment,  but  the  church 
and  other  buildings  were  destroyed  by  Francia's  orders,  and  upon 
their  ruins  was  erected  an  unpretending  chapel.  The  shops,  the 
principal  of  which  was  that  of  our  friend  Don  Louis  Homan,  were 
gayly  decked  with  goods. 

The  country  through  which  we  had  passed,  from  Asuncion  to 
Villa  Rica,  one  hundred  and  eight  miles  by  the  road,  is  through- 
out populous,  picturesque,  and  fertile ;  the  campo  has  the  appear- 
ance of  a  lovely  meadow,  and  the  fine  condition  of  the  cattle 
proved  the  excellence  of  its  grasses.  Skirting  the  plains  are  the 
serranias,  and  upon  these  are  built  the^9z«e5/o6',^;Mei?ito.s,*  cajyillas, 
and  dwellings  of  the  country  people.  Some  of  the  latter  are  of 
adobe,  and  are  spacious ;  others  are  low  thatched  huts.  The  roll- 
ing lands  rise  in  gentle  slopes  to  a  background  of  wooded  mount- 
ains, which  form  a  beautiful  and  effective  setting  to  the  hills,  and 
green  pastures  below. 

There  were  no  large  plantations,  but  many  small  fields  of  corn, 
tobacco,  mandioca,  and  a  little  sugar-cane. 

In  the  time  of  Francia,  cotton  was  extensively  cultivated  for 
home  consumption.  I  saw  but  a  few  plants,  the  growth  of  two  or 
three  years ;  for  even  since  the  opening  of  the  rivers  in  1852,  the 
foreign-manufactured  article  has  worked  its  way  into  these  inte- 
rior regions,  and  the  people  will  no  longer  pay  seventy -five  cents 

*  Pueblos,  villages.     Pueblitas,  hamlets. 


212  THE  TIBIQUARI. 

per  yard  for  the  domestic  fabric,  when  they  can  purchase  the  im- 
ported for  ten.     So  much  for  trade,  even  in  Paraguay. 

The  Tibiquari  and  Tibiquarimini,  which  course  through  fertile 
lands,  might  be  made  channels  of  communication  to  the  river  Par- 
aguay ;  but  the  Tibiquari  disembogues  one  hundred  and  forty -two 
miles  below  Asuncion,  and  one  hundred  and  eight  above  Corri- 
entes.  The  products  of  the  country  would  of  course  follow  the 
current,  and  find  their  market  in  the  latter  city,  and  draw  proj)or- 
tionably  Jrom  the  trade  of  the  capital.  This  would  not  at  all  ac- 
cord with  the  aim  of  President  Lopez,  which  is  to  make  the  trade 
of  the  Kepublic  centre  where  he  has  the  collection  of  the  revenue 
under  his  direct  supervision.  It  is  natural  that  he  should  wish  to 
make  the  ports  of  Paraguay  the  seat  of  their  own  import  and  ex- 
port trade ;  but  more  enlarged  views  would  suggest  the  naviga- 
tion of  the  Tibiquari  by  small  steamers,  or  even  boats ;  and  the 
building  of  a  village,  which  would  soon  grow  to  a  city,  at  its 
mouth.  The  aggregate  products  of  the  whole  country  through 
which  this  river  flows  are  even  now  considerable,  and  could,  from 
its  natural  fertility,  be  increased  a  hundredfold. 

We  remained  several  days  at  Villa  Eica  to  make  observations 
for  determining  its  latitude  and  longitude,  and  the  variation  of 
compass.  Its  position,  as  established  by  Lieutenant  Welsh  from 
altitudes  of  the  sun,  and  of  stars  east  and  west,  and  north  and 
south  with  pocket  chronometer,  sextant,  and  artificial  horizon,  is 
latitude  25°  47'  10"  south,  longitude  56°  80'  20"  west;  variation 
7°  84'  east ;  height  above  Asuncion  823  feet ;  and  above  Buenos 
Ayres  580. 

We  also  hoped  during  this  delay  to  refresh  our  cargaro  horses, 
which  were  now  quite  useless  from  the  state  of  their  backs,  caused 
more  by  the  clumsy  saddle  of  the  country  than  the  weight  of  the 
instruments.  This  recado  (saddle),  used  every  where,  is  not  only 
uncomfortable  to  the  rider,  as  I  had  a  fair  opportunity  of  judging, 
but  injurious  to  the  horse.  Indeed  you  scarcely  see  an  animal 
much  used  in  La  Plata  whose  back  does  not  show  its  bad  effects. 
It  serves  the  double  purpose  of  saddle  and  bed ;  and  were  our 
saddles  encumbered  with  an  equal  number  of  skins  or  cloths 
placed  under  and  over,  they  would  answer  as  well ;  but  the  people 
of  these  countries  trouble  themselves  little  with  improvements ; 
old  things  are  preferred  because  they  are  old. 

From  the  difficulty  of  obtaining  horses,  and  accommodations  for 
so  large  a  party,  I  determined  to  divide  it  at  Villa  Eica.     Lieu- 


TEAVKLING  IN  THE  INTERIOR.  213 

tenants  Ammen  and  Welsh  were  directed  to  take  another  route, 


while  I,  abandoning  the  daguerreotype  instrument,  and  encum- 
bered only  with  such  as  were  necessary  for  geographical  determi- 
nation, pursued  my  course  east,  accompanied  by  Lieutenants  Pow- 
ell and  Henry,  and  Mr.  Bushell. 

Travelers  are  almost  unknown  in  the  interior  of  Paraguay ;  and, 
in  the  absence  of  all  hotels  or  public  houses,  it  is  difficult  to  pro- 
cure a  change  of  horses,  accommodation,  or  rather  provisions,  for 
a  large  party.  The  grazing  is  every  where  fine,  but  an  animal 
turned  out  at  night  is  not  fit  for  the  next  day's  travel.  At  least 
this  can  not  be  followed  up  for  many  days  successively.  The 
people  cultivate  only  the  essentials  of  life.  Corn,  though  abund- 
ant and  cheap,  is  never  stored,  but  sold,  as  soon  as  gathered,  to 
the  merchant  of  some  neighboring  village.  One  rarely  sees  bread, 
except  in  certain  thrifty  families,  where  is  found  the  cMjm,  made 
of  the  flour  of  the  bitter  mandioca,  an  excellent  substitute  for  that 
of  wheat. 

At  our  first  stopping-place,  after  leaving  Villa  Pica,  the  dwell- 
ing wore  an  unusual  air  of  comfort,  and  the  dinner  was  both 
abundant  and  well  cooked.  It  consisted  of  soup,  chickens,  stewed 
beef,  hominy,  eggs,  and  milk ;  all  served  in  as  many  courses,  but 
in  one  and  the  same  earthen  dish,  out  of  which  we  ate  with 
wooden  spoons.  Plates,  dishes,  and  knives  are  the  luxuries  only 
of  the  higher  classes. 

We  spent  the  night  at  Capilla  Yacaguazu,  the  house  of  Senor 
Dorothio  Duarte,  about  thirteen  miles  from  Villa  Pica.  The  next 
day,  after  some  trouble  with  one  of  the  cargaro  mules  which  we 
had  hired  at  Villa  Rica  to  replace  our  worn-out  horses,  we  crossed, 
about  nine  miles  from  the  Capilla,  the  little  river  Yacaguazu,  a 
tributary  of  the  Tibiquari,  and  twelve  miles  beyond  arrived  at 
the  village  of  San  Francisco,  in  the  department  of  Caasapa.  The 
physical  features  of  the  country  to  that  point  continued  unchanged ; 
mountains  and  hills,  covered  with  superb  forests,  inclosing  fertile 
and  populous  campos. 

All  the  lands  from  the  Yacaguazu  to  the  Parana,  eastward,  are 
the  property  of  the  state.  The  inhabitants,  who  are  tenants  of  the 
Republic,  pay  an  annual  rent  of  two  dollars  the  square  league, 
and  a  tenth  of  the  produce.  The  resources  of  the  country  under 
such  a  system  can  never  be  fully  developed ;  and  it  is  said  that 
President  Lopez,  aware  of  this,  will  propose  to  Congress  a  law  au- 
thorizing the  sale  of  these  lands.    But  one  can  scarcely  imagine  the 


214 


PUESTA  DEL  ESTADO. 


action  of  that  body  necessary  to  enable  bim  to  carry  out  bis  wilb 
The  proclamations  and  edicts  of  bis  Excellency  are  tbe  laws,  and 
tbey  command  tbe  strictest  observance. 

Leaving  San  Francisco,  we  reacbed  tbe  Puesta  del  Estado  de 
Jesus  Maria,  one  of  tbe  nurnerous  government  estancias,  after  a 
travel  of  six  bours,  very  bungry  and  tired.  In  tbis  journey 
tbrougb  Paraguay,  wberever  we  were  not  tempted  to  enter  by  tbe 
neatness  of  a  dwelling,  our  dining  and  sleeping  room  was  always 
under  tbe  projecting  roof  common  to  all  country -bouses.  We  now 
occupied  tbe  usual  place,  feasting  eye  and  imagination  upon  tbe 
landscapes  before  us,  but  impatiently  watcbing  for  tbe  appearance 
of  food  for  tbe  material  man.  At  last  a  servant  of  tbe  state  ap- 
peared, and  announced  witb  dignity,  "  Dinner  is  ready."    We  rose 


DINNER   AT   THE   I'UESTA   DEL   ESTADO. 


SCANTY  DINNER.— A  STORM.  215 

from  our  seats,  looked  around  and  within,  but  could  sec  nothing 
of  the  mysterious  dinner.  Presently  out  stepped  two  of  the  gal- 
lant defenders  of  the  Puesta  del  Estado,  each  holding  a  long  stick, 
upon  which  hung  a  piece  of  asado.  They  moved  before  us, 
grounded  arms,  and  stood  at  rest. 

"  Is  that  our  dinner?" 

"  Si,  Senor,"  was  the  answer,  accompanied  by  a  profound  obei- 
sance, but  uttered  with  an  air  and  voice  which  impHed 

"  What  more  would  you  have  ?" 

We  drew  our  knives,  and,  without  salt,  bread,  or  vegetables, 
commenced  the  attack,  only  to  experience  the  mortification  of  a 
defeat.  The  meat  must  have  been  taken  from  a  bullock  as  old  as 
a  Chaco  Indian.  Our  knives  were  sharp,  and  we  assaulted  vigor- 
ously only  to  be  repulsed,  and  this  too  while  our  hungry  eyes 
wandered  over  the  luxuriant  campos,  where  two  thousand  sleek 
beeves  were  tranquilly  grazing.  Surely  I  had  offeuded  Jupiter. 
I  had  let  in  "Los  Portugases,"  and  this  was  my  punishment;  but 
it  was  not  everlasting.  A  few  fowls  were  running  about;  and 
one  of  our  party,  in  a  happy  fit  of  inspiration,  suggested  eggs,  on 
which,  with  a  little  Villa  Kica  bread  found  among  the  baggage, 
we  made  our  dinner.  For  this  luxurious  meal  and  corn  for  our 
horses,  the  charge  was  one  dollar.  I  never  reported  the  capitan 
of  this  puesta,  or  he  would  probably  have  lost  his  place. 

Six  miles  from  this  hospitable  posta  we  crossed  a  tributary  of 
the  little  river  Peripo,  and  dissipated  our  ill-humor  and  disap- 
pointment by  taking  a  delicious  bath,  little  thinking  that  we  were 
soon  to  taste  the  same  luxury  in  another  way.  Night  closed  in 
before  we  reached  any  habitation,  and  with  it  came  a  terrific 
storm.  The  pitchy  darkness  was  only  reheved  by  blinding  flash- 
es of  lightning,  and  we  moved  on  step  by  step,  not  knowing  where 
the  next  would  lead  or  end;  for  the  vaqueano,  unable  to  see  the 
road  or  even  the  head  of  his  horse,  had  lost  his  way.  The  rain 
fell  in  a  continuous  torrent,  while  the  lightning  flashed  only  to 
leave  us  again  in  more  profound  darkness.  Hark!  the  bark  of 
a  dog.  Following  the  sound,  we  found  ourselves  before  a  miser- 
able thatched  shed,  or  hut,  open  on  one  side.  It  could  scarcely 
be  called  a  house,  but  it  sheltered  kind  hearts  and  innocence :  a 
man,  two  womqo,  and  a  young  child.  Any  port  in  a  storm,  where 
there  is  safe  anchorage,  is  to  a  wearied  mariner  preferable  to  drift- 
ing he  knows  not  where.  We  "came  to,"  and  asked  for  shelter. 
The  man  sprang  from  his  bed,  and  without  hesitation  gave  us  a 


216  A  HUNGAEIAN  EMIGEANT. 

kind  welcome,  while  the  women  soon  busied  themselves  in  kin- 
dling up  some  slumbering  embers  in  the  centre  of  the  earthen  floor, 
over  which  stood  a  pot.  "Wet  and  weary,  we  gathered  round  the 
fire,  and  regaled  burselves  with  mate.  The  man  offered  me  his 
onlj  bed,  a  well-stretched  hide ;  but,  dechning  it,  I  slung  up  a 
hammock,  wet  as  my  clothes,  and  turned  in  "  all  standing."  Light 
repasts,  fatigue,  a  good  conscience,  are  the  best  opiates,  and  under 
their  influence  I  was  soon  asleep,  dreaming  of  home,  airy  cham- 
bers, and  soft  couches. 

Nothing  could  be  more  lovely  than  the  appearance  of  the  coun- 
try through  which  we  traveled  the  following  day.  The  storm 
had  freshened  and  enlivened  all  vegetation.  The  air  was  soft  and 
balmy ;  the  sun  cast  a  flood  of  radiance  -upon  the  grassy  plain, 
which  was  inclosed  on  all  sides,  apparently  without  outlet,  by 
wooded  mountains,  and  overspread  by  herds  of  horned  cattle,  ex- 
ceeding in  size  and  fine  condition  any  we  had  seen.  The  district 
was  as  populous  as  that  immediately  around  Asuncion.  Every 
hill-side  had  its  adobe  houses,  orange-trees,  and  little  fields  of  corn, 
tobacco,  and  mandioca. 

Amid  all  this  wealth  of  pastoral  agriculture  we  came  to  the  res- 
idence of  a  man  of  refinement  and  education — a  Hungarian  en- 
gineer, Mr.  Francis  Wisner,  who  had  here,  with  his  young  wife  and 
children,  probably  pitched  his  tent  for  life.  Mr.  Wisner  reached 
Paraguay  in  1845,  and  rendered  good  service  to  the  people  by  as- 
sisting them  in  preparing  their  defenses  against  an  expected  inva- 
sion from  Corrientes.  His  labors  were  poorly  requited  after  the 
danger  was  passed.  He  had  made  a  topographical  survey  of  the 
country  bordering  on  the  Tibiquari,  and,  at  the  time  of  our  visit, 
was  working  out  a  beautiful  map  for  the  President,  My  only  as- 
tonishment was  that  so  intelligent*  a  person  should,  without  the 
protection  of  any  nationality,  be  wilhng  to  live  under  such  a  gov- 
ernment. But  a  strong  tie  connects  him  with  the  coimtry:  his 
wife  is  a  Paraguayan.  The  laws  permit  no  woman  to  leave  the 
republic  without  permission  of  the  President ;  and  the  well-known 
and  useful  accomplishments  of  Mr.  Wisner  would  probably  only 
increase  the  difiiculty  of  obtaining  it.  He  enjoys,  however,  the 
privilege  of  an  estate,  a  league  square,  in  one  of  the  finest  regions 
of  the  earth,  for  which  he  pays  the  established  rent  of  two  dollars 
per  annum,  and  the  "  diezmo." 

Prom  this  quarter  of  Paraguay  the  cost  of  transportation  to  the 
capital  is  twenty-five  cents  the  aroba.     Taking  the  one  article 


SENOB  SERGENTE  LOPEZ.  217 

tobacco,  we  find  it  encumbered  with  the  following  charges :  Trans- 
portation to  Asuncion,  twenty -five  cents  the  aroba;  exportation 
duty,  twelve  and  a  half  cents;  the  "diezmo,"  or  tenth,  fifteen 
cents.  Net  proceeds,  at  the  present  price  of  tobacco  (one  dollar 
and  fifty  cents  the  aroba),  eighty-three  cents  the  aroba.  The  profit 
would  be  three  and  one  third  cents  the  pound. 

I  was  anxious  to  determine  the  position  of  Mr.  Wisner's  house, 
but  the  weather  would  not  permit.  We  however  estabhshed,  by 
barometric  measurement,  its  height  above  Asuncion,  which  we 
found  to  be  71  feet,  and  above  Buenos  Ayres  328  feet.  It  will  be 
seen  by  comparison  with  the  observations  at  Villa  Eica  and  Asun- 
cion, that  the  former  is  the  highest  of  these  three  points,  and  that 
after  passing  it  there  is  a  slight  though  gradual  descent  eastward 
to  the  Parana ;  but  the  country  bordering  on  the  Parana,  in  the 
same  parallel  with  Asuncion,  is  ijiore  elevated  than  that  on  the 
Paraguay. 

After  dinner  and  a  few  hours  of  pleasant  conversation,  we  con- 
tinued our  journey,  and  before  dark  reached  the  residence  of 
Senor  Sergente  Lopez,  distant  fifteen  miles,  making  in  all  thirty 
traveled  this  day  through  the  partido  (district)  of  Bobi.  The 
limits  of  the  various  partidos,  unless  defined  by  some  natural 
boundary,  are  difiicult  to  ascertain ;  and  from  the  difference  of 
opinion  on  this  subject  among  the  inhabitants,  we  came  to  the 
conclusion  that  they  troubled  themselves  but  little  to  arrive  at  the 
truth. 

We  were  kindly  received  by  Don  Sergente,  who  gave  us  a  sub- 
stantial supper  of  roast  and  stewed  beef,  with  the  after  luxury  of 
cots  and  neat  bed-hnen  in  our  usual  airy  sleeping  apartment 
under  the  projecting  roof.  I  missed  in  this  journey  the  refreshing 
luxury  of  a  cup  of  tea.  Although  a  lover  of  mate,  and  a  believer 
in  its  virtues,  it  was  to  me  a  poor  substitute  for  the  China  leaf, 
which  in  Paraguay  is  sold  only  as  a  medicine  in  the  druggists' 
shops  of  Asuncion.  The  mate  is  never  served  at  meals,  as  tea  is 
with  us,  but  is  always  the  accompaniment  of  a  cigar. 

At  an  early  hour  the  next  morning  we  crossed  the  little  river 
Uputa,  a  tributary  of  the  Aguapay.  Eight  miles  beyond  is  the 
dividing  line  between  Bobi  and  San  Casmi.  Seeing  a  house  with 
fine  patches  of  corn  around  it,  we  thought  it  a  good  place  for 
breakfast.  It  proved  to  be  the  residence  of  an  old  lady,  who,  un- 
like Senora  Dalmacia,  gave  us  a  kind  reception.  The  dwelhngs 
of  the  country  people  are  uniformly  on  the  public  roads ;  and  by 


218  SWIMMING  A  EIVER. 

keeping  a  briglit  look-out  for  tlie  significant  indications  of  good 
cheer,  cattle,  small  fields  of  corn,  and  mandioca,  a  traveler  may 
generally,  without  fear  of  disappointment,  find  enough  to  satisfy 
his  appetite.  We  had  been  but  a  short  time  at  the  Senora's  when 
an  agitation  among  the  chickens,  and  certain,  other  unmistakable 
signs,  gave  a  pleasant  forewarning  of  dinner.  The  good  woman 
soon  placed  it  before  us,  then  placidly  seated  herself  at  a  table 
near,  and  continued  her  work,  making  cigars  from  tobacco  which 
hung  from  the  roof,  and  had  only  a  month  or  two  before  been  cut 
from  the  field.  To  all  appearance  the  leaf  was  of  a  fine  quality ; 
and  after  rolling  one  up  in  the  neatest  manner,  she  gravely  placed 
'it  by  my  plate,  with  a  request  that  I  would  smoke  it.  I  asked 
her  to  make  me  a  few,  and  though  so  fresh  they  proved  ex- 
cellent. 

Until  the  arrival  of  the  Am^ican  Company  there  was  not,  even 
at  Asuncion,  an  appointed  place  for  making  or  selling  cigars, 
though  many  thousands  were  exported  monthly.  Individuals  who 
bought  for  their  own  use,  or  merchants  requiring  them  for  do- 
mestic trade  or  exportation,  ordered  them  from  different  country 
families,  and  they  were  always  punctually  delivered — their  shape 
and  size  varying  according  to  order. 

Twelve  miles  beyond  Dona  Clara's  we  reached  the  Taquari,  a 
tributary  of  the  Parana,  and  the  dividing  line  between  the  partidos 
San  Casmi  and  Carmen.  It  was  so  much  swollen  by  the  backing 
up  of  the  waters  of  the  Parana  that  we  were  obliged  to  cross  in 
canoes ;  the  horses  swimming  alongside  and  literally  carrying  us 
over  by  "  horse  power."  After  passing  this  river  we  came  to  our 
resting-place  for  the  night,  the  "  Capilla  Carmen,"  where  we  were 
well  received  by  the  commandante,  Mariano  Senturian,  at  whose 
house  we  had  been  advised  to  stop. 

The  country  from  Villa  Pica  is  generally  campo,  intersected  by 
several  streams  and  skirted  by  wooded  ridges  of  rolling  lands. 
The  soil  of  the  latter  is  argillaceous,  while  that  of  the  plain  is  a 
rich  dark  loam.  The  estancias  are  not  so  numerous  as  between 
Asuncion  and  Villa  Rica,  the  largest  being  those  of  the  govern- 
ment ;  but  the  herds  of  cattle  are  superb. 

There  was  no  great  variety  in  the  articles  cultivated.  Every 
where  we  saw  tobacco,  corn,  mandioca,  pumpkins,  onions,  oranges, 
and  melons.  The  latter,  though  small,  were  of  delicious  flavor. 
This  poverty  in  the  variety  of  fruits  and  vegetables  arises  only 
from  the  extreme  indifference  of  the  people,  who  have  no  market 


':'i§mW-'"''^ 


CLIMATE  AND  PRODUCTIONS.  221 

for  such  products,  and  care  little  for  what  we  consider  the  luxuries 
of  the  table. 

It  is  almost  impossible  to  name  a  tropical  fruit  which,  if^lanted 
here,  does  not  thrive  with  the  least  possible  care.  Bananas,  plant- 
ains, and  pine-apples  are  cultivated  on  a  hmited  scale ;  but  in  no 
country  do  they  mature  in  greater  perfection.  So  with  coffee.  I 
saw  it  growing  in  one  place  only,  but  it  was  particularly  fine. 

Give  the  Paraguayans  mate,  beef,  and  mandioca,  and  they  are 
satisfied.  Their  forests  3deld  the  first,  and  the  native  pastures 
support  their  cattle.  Shut  out,  first  by  the  policy  of  Spain,  and 
again  by  the  tyranny  of  Francia,  from  all  communication  with 
other  lands,  they  neither  know  nor  desire  their  luxuries.  The 
climate  is  deliciously  soft ;  and  with  the  festivals  of  the  Church, 
and  an  occasional  "  dance,"  to  break  the  monotony  of  existence, 
■  they  dream  it  away,  imagining  that  the  true  and  only  Elysium  is 
Paraguay. 

We  saw  a  few  deer.  Among  the  domestic  animals  are  sheep, 
but  no  hogs.  The  woodlands  are  probably  rich  in  flora  and  birds ; 
but  traveling  almost  continuously  through  a  level  open  country, 
we  saw  very  few.  Jaguars  are  rarely  seen  in  this  part  of  Para- 
guay, but  infest  the  forests  bordering  on  the  rivers.  Among  the 
birds,  the  most  common  was  the  small  partridge. 

As  we  approached  the  Parana  the  country  continued  fertile, 
populous  and  picturesque ;  beautifully  diversified  by  plains  and 
wooded  ridges.  Under  beneficent  legislation,  with  such  a  wealth 
of  soil  and  climate,  surely  the  happiness  of  a  golden  age  might 
here  be  realized. 

In  all  Paraguay  I  have  not  yet  met  a  medical  man.  At  Asun- 
cion, and  a  few  of  the  towns  only,  "curanderos"  are  found. 
These  are  men  supposed  to  be  skilled  in  the  knowledge  and  ap- 
plication of  the  remedios  drawn  from  the  vegetation  of  the  country. 
Falconer,*  both  physician  and  botanist,  says :  "  Paraguay  is  en- 
riched by  the  bounty  of  nature  with  so  many  wholesome  plants, 
roots,  gums,  woods,  and  fruits,  that  whoever  is  skilled  in  the  knowl- 
edge of  these  things  would  have  no  occasion  for  European  drug- 
gists to  cure  any  disease."  Nearly  all  families  of  the  country  un- 
derstand the  power  and  use  of  these  remedies. 

We  made  this  journey  in  February,  the  last  summer  month,  the 

*  An  English  Jesuit.  When  he  wrote,  all  La  Plata  was  called  Paraguay,  but 
the  Jesuits  were  particularly  acquainted  with  all  the  northern  and  western  prov- 
inces. 


222  ENCARNACION,— CARMEN. 

hottest  of  the  year.  In  the  course  of  each  day  and  night  we 
,  entered  three  or  four  different  houses,  and  yet  heard  of  no  sick 
individuals  or  families.  Malignant  fevers  are  imknown.  On  sev- 
eral occasions  we  met  with  men  over  eighty,  vigorous  in  mind 
and  body,  who  assured  us  they  had  never  experienced  a  day  of 
indisposition.  We  generally  slept  under  the  projecting  roof,  and 
I  remember  no  night  that  was  not  deliciously  cool — so  much  so, 
that  my  blanket-shawl  was  always  an  essential  covering. 

The  barometer  and  thermometer  were  both  accidentally  broken, 
which  I  regretted,  as  I  wished  to  measure  the  height  of  Ytapua — 
now  Encarnacion — with  Asuncion,  and  continue  meteorological 
observations.  Our  register  of  temperatures  up  to  the  17th,  in- 
clusive, gave  a  maximum  of  heat,  at  3  P.M.,  of  94°,  minimum 
86° ;  and  yet,  with  the  wind  from  the  north — for  it  is  only  from 
that  quarter  that  so  high  a  range  is  produced — this  temperature 
was  not  oppressive.  The  position  of  Carmen,  latitude  27°  12'  30" 
S.,  longitude  56°  14'  21''  W.,  was  determined  by  Lieutenant  Powell 
at  a  subsequent  period.  In  consequence  of  an  accident  to  the 
pocket  -  chronometer  before  my  return  to  Asuncion,  which  pre- 
vented a  comparison  and  verification  of  its  error  and  rate  with  our 
standard,  I  was  unwilling  to  assume  the  results  of  our  work  as 
correct.  Lieutenant  Powell,  who  afterward  visited  the  interior 
of  the  country,  was  directed  in  his  returning  to  take  the  same 
route  from  and  after  his  arrival  at  Villa  Rica — a  place  satisfactorily 
determined — and  to  make  all  necessary  observations  at  each  of 
the  prominent  points  where  they  had  been  previously  made,  and 
the  geographical  positions  of  which  I  deemed  it  important  to  es- 
tablish with  every  degree  of  accuracy. 

The  Puebla  Carmen  is  a  new  place,  built  after  the  abandonment 
of  Ytapua,  and  contains  about  one  thousand  inhabitants.  "Why 
was  Encarnacion  deserted  ?  After  considerable  negotiation  with 
foreign  powers,  Paraguay  opened  a  port  on  the  Parana.  She  re- 
gretted the  concession ;  but  there  was  only  one  way  of  avoiding 
the  stipulations  of  the  treaty  and  keeping  the  portals  closed.  This 
was  by  building  up  a  new  village  twenty-one  miles  in  the  interior, 
and  making  it  the  centre  of  trade  for  all  the  neighboring  country. 
President  Lopez  proved  in  this  instance  that  if  he  can  not  move 
mountains  he  can  change  the  position  of  towns.  He  who  dares 
look  back  to  Encarnacion  will  be  turned  into  one  of  the  pillars  of 
the  state — a  soldier. 

Nothing  could  have  been  kinder  than  our  reception  by  Don 


EL  SECRETARIO.— YTAPUA.  223 

Mariano.  He  added  to  our  obligations  by  the  offer  of  fresh  horses 
to  Ytapua.  We  started  in  great  spirits,  and  soon  came  to  the 
river  Yiin,  a  tributary  of  the  Parana,  which  was  crossed  in  a  canoe, 
the  horses  as  usual  carrying  it  over  by  swimming  alongside.  This 
river  is  the  dividing  line  between  the  departments  Carmen  and 
Encarnacion,  being  distant  from  the  former  fifteen  miles.  One 
mile  beyond  this  we  passed  over  the  Boicaja,  also  a  tributary  of 
the  Parana.  The  country  from  Carmen  to  Ytapua  is  rolling,  with 
an  argillaceous  soil,  bearing  a  little  wheat  of  indifferent  quality. 

When  within  a  mile  of  Ytapua  we  missed  one  of  our  party, 
"  El  Secretario"  of  the  Paraguayans,  the  "  Colonel"  of  the  younger 
officers,  and,  in,  truth,  the  captain's  clerk.  He  was  a  son  of  the 
Emerald  Isle;  one  more  "skilled  in  the  tongues"  than  in  horse- 
manship. Mounted  on  rather  a  mettlesome  steed,  with  dragoon 
saddle  and  holsters,  containing  a  formidable  pair  of  horse-pistols ; 
with  feet  barely  touching  the  stirrups,  lengthened  to  the  last  hole, 
the  colonel  was,  when  mounted,  a  true  knight — a  scion  of  the  royal 
O'Neals.  From  the  first  elevation  we  looked  back  anxiously  for 
our  missing  companion.  A  riderless  horse  was  flying  over  the 
plains,  lashed  at  every  step  by  holsters  and  saddle-skirts ;  while  on 
foot,  and  in  hot  pursuit,  was  the  colonel.  Judging  from  his  agile 
movements  that  the  physical  frame  was  unharmed,  and  knowing 
that  both  rider  and  steed  must  "bring  up"  at  some  neighboring 
corral,  we  quietly  pursued  our  way.  While  hob-nobbing  over  a 
glass  of  cana  with  the  commandante,  in  walked  our  friend,  a  little 
worn  from  his  exercise  under  a  temperature  of  90°,  but  declaring 
earnestly  that  he  had  only  dismounted  to  arrange  the  equipments 
of  his  steed,  when  he  gave  him  the  slip. 

Ytapua  was  one  of  the  most  famous  of  the  Jesuit  reductions  ; 
but  its  glory  has  passed  away ;  that  is,  the  glory  of  Jesuitic  civil- 
ization ;  yet  nature  is  still  beautiful.  The  Parana — already  by  the 
accumulated  waters  of  many  navigable  streams  a  mighty  river,  one 
mile  and  a  quarter  wide — rolls  on  majestically  between  a  border- 
ing of  lofty  trees.  It  will  probably  be  found  navigable  from 
Ytapua  to  the  ocean  for  river  steamers,  for  the  Jesuits  descended 
to  Corrientes  from  this  point  in  vessels  of  four  and  five  feet 
draught.  The  falls  of  Apipd,  one  thousand  miles  from  the  capes 
of  La  Plata,  obstruct,  for  the  first  time,  its  navigation  by  large 
vessels ;  such,  at  least,  is  the  generally  received  opinion ;  but 
having  reason  to  doubt  this  fact,  I  sent  the  Water  Witch  to  ex- 
amine those  rapids,  while  I  was  engaged  in  prosecuting  another 


224  WEALTHY  CHURCHES. 

branch  of  the  work.     In  passing  the  Paraguayan  fort  of  Itapiru, 
she  was  dastardly  fired  into,  and  one  man  killed. 
But  I  am  anticipating. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 


Francia, — Religion  and  the  Churches. — Ytapua. — The  Commandante  and  Soldiers. 
— Navigability  of  the  Parana. — Carmen. — Equipments  of  Horses. — Mission  of  San 
Cosmi. — EstanciaSan  Rafael. — Mate'. — Frescoes. — D.  Ignacio's  Horse. — Capilla 
SaiL  Martin. — The  Supper. — Missions  Santa  Maria  and  Santa  Rosa. — Estancia 
of  Seiiora  Casara. — The  Merchant  President. — Senor  Cabenas. — Capilla  Caa- 
pucu. — Senor  VasconcelloS. — The  Diezmo. — Public  Lands. — Senor  Bergarran. 
— Iron  Works. — The  Waiter. — The  Superintendent. — Ibicui.— Mineral  Districts. 
— Products  and  Exports  of  Paraguay. — The  Surgeon  of  the  Water  Witch. — 
Beauty  and  Fertility  of  the  Country. — Presidential  Election. — No  Admittance. 
— A  Motion  to  make  the  President  Emperor. — The  Constitution. — Individual 
Wealth. — Cotton. — Lists  of  Exports  from  Asuncion. 

The  ruins  of  a  church  and  a  few  dilapidated  houses  are  all  that 
remain  of  one  of  the  most  celebrated  of  the  Parana  missions. 
Francia  finished  what  the  immediate  successors  of  the  Jesuits 
spared.  The  Dictator  was  no  hypocrite  in  religion.  On  all  oc- 
casions he  manifested  an  indifference  to  its  outer  observance  and 
contempt  for  the  priests,  who,  he  was  repeatedly  heard  to  say, 
"rather  tend  to  make  these  people  believe  in  the  devil  than  in 
God."  Even  within  the  memory  of  living  Paraguayans,  some  of 
these  churches  were  rich  in  vessels  of  precious  metals,  statuettes  of 
the  twelve  apostles  in  solid  silver,  paintings,  and  carving.  The 
church  of  Ytapua  was  one  of  the  most  beautiful  of  these.  A 
massive  foundation,  three  hundred  and  twenty  feet  by  eighty,  and 
a  few  feet  of  the  superstructure,  are  all  that  remain  of  this  edifice. 
It  was  despoiled,  but  not  demolished,  by  Francia.  In  1846  serv- 
ice was  still  held  within  its  walls.  They  were  taken  down  in 
this  year  by  order  of  President  Lopez,  who  was  told  that  the  con- 
dition of  the  building  made  it  unsafe.  But  the  work  of  demo- 
lition showed  its  strength;  and  the  President,  I  was  informed, 
greatly  regretted  his  agency  in  the  destruction  of  one  of  the  finest 
Jesuitic  monuments  of  the  country.  The  residences  of  the  Fathers, 
built  of  stone  and  brick,  were  in  excellent  preservation,  and  seem- 
ed to  defy  the  ravages  of  time.  One  of  them  was  occupied  by  the 
commandante,  who  assured  me  that  it  had  never,  within  the 
memory  of  living  man,  been  repaired,  and  yet  the  wood-work, 
especially  those  parts  that  had  not  been  exposed  to  the  elements, 


NAVIGABILITY  OF  THE  PARANA.  225 

was  perfect ;  the  bamboo  slats,  laid  transversely  across  the  rafters 
as  a  support  for  the  tiling,  looked  untouched  by  time. 

The  commandante  was  hospitable,  and  celebrated  our  arrival 
by  making  himself  gloriously  happy  with  cana.  He  entertained 
us  with  marvelous  stories  of  battles  fought  and  won  by  Para- 
guayans ;  of  his  own  deeds  of  valor  and  single-handed  combat ;  all 
of  which  impressed  us  profoundly  with  the  vivacious  imagination 
and  talent  for  military  narration  of  this  officer  of  the  republic. 
Tired,  sleepy,  and  fearing  that  he  might  mistake  us  for  the  eneniy, 
we  retreated  at  an  early  hour  to  our  hammocks. 

When  Bucurelli  carried  out  the  instructions  of  the  Count  of 
Aranda,  the  Jesuits  were  constructing  a  church  at  the  "  Mission 
Jesus,"  near  the  Pueblo  Trinidad,  about  twenty  miles  above  on 
the  Parana — the  highest  point  on  that  river  to  which  the  Paraguay 
missions  extended.  But  neither  the  magnificence  of  its  design  nor 
the  beauty  of  the  masonry  and  wood-work — much  of  which  was 
completed — could  save  it  from  the  vandalism  of  Francia,  who 
ordered  it  to  be  destroyed.  Some  few  of  these  churches — San 
Cosmi,  Santiago,  Santa  Rosa — were  spared,  and  we  visited  them  in 
the  return  route  to  Asuncion. 

On  the  22d  of  February — a  day  remembered  by  all  Americans, 
wherever  they  may  be — we  left  for  Carmen,  carrying  with  us,  as 
a  souvenir  of  Ytapua,  a  bit  of  the  stone  of  the  old  church,  which 
seems  to  be  veined  with  copper.  With  the  exception  of  one  dis- 
trict, and  this  extending  but  a  few  miles,  the  country  was  as  thickly 
populated  as  that  immediately  around  Asuncion.  The  dwellings 
were  of  a  better  order,  and  the  cultivation  very  fair.  The  Para- 
na, unobstructed  to  the  Atlantic,  is  an  outlet  for  all  Eastern  Para- 
guay. I  have  several  times  alluded  to  the  determination  of  the 
President  to  concentrate  the  whole  trade  of  the  country  at  the 
capital ;  and  if  he  tells  the  people  of  the  East  that  the  Parana  is 
not  navigable  to  Corrientes,  no  charts  based  upon  the  most  reliable 
data  could  convince  them  that  his  Excellency's  assertion  was  in- 
correct. When  I  told  them  of  the  floating  palaces  carrying  mil- 
lions of  freight  over  our  interior  water-courses,  with  a  draught  of 
only  two  or  three  feet,  they  looked  as  if  they  thought  I  was  en- 
tertaining them  with  a  "yarn."  The  cataract  of  La  Guayra.and 
the  rapids  of  Apipe  are  regarded  by  President  Lopez  only  as 
magnificent  fortifications  provided  by  nature  for  Paraguay,  against 
all  outside  enemies;  more  particularly  against  her  neighbors,  "  Los 
Portugases."     The  resources  of  this  district  are  as  unbounded  as 

16 


226  MISSION  OF  SAN  COSMI. 

those  of  tlie  West ;  and  the  wealth  of  the  Jesuits,  derived  from 
their  agricultural  labors  in  a  small  part  of  it,  is  the  best  evidence 
of  its  fertility.  The  soil  of  the  hills  between  Encamacion  and 
Carmen  is  a  reddish  clay,  while  that  of  the  flat  lands  is  a  black 
argillaceous  loam,  resembling  alluvial  deposit. 

The  Paraguayans,  like  all  Spanish  Americans,  take  much  pride 
in  the  equipments  of  their  horses.  The  Bolivian  officers  whom 
we  met  in  Brazil  had  presented  me  with  a  saddle-covering,  made 
of  the  skin  of  the  "  pareroso"  (the  sloth),  an  animal  not  found  in 
Paraguay,  It  had  apparently  excited  the  admiration  of  many 
during  this  journey.  On  leaving  Carmen,  I  gave  it  to  Don  Mari- 
ano, as  a  souvenir  of  our  party.  My  offering  was  received  with 
unaffected  pleasure,  and  we  parted  with  many  expressions  on  his 
part  of  esteem  for  us  all. 

As  I  had  determined  to  return  to  Asuncion  by  a  more  southern 
route,  we  started  for  San  Cosmi,  another  of  the  abandoned  mis- 
sions. It  is  but  twelve  miles  from  Carmen,  and  in  that  distance 
we  passed  in  canoes  over  two  small  tributaries  of  the  Parana,  the 
Taquari,  and  the  Aguape.  This  mode  of  crossing  was  trouble- 
some, for  it  always  involved  the  unloading  and  loading  of  the 
cargaro  mules.  This  mission,  according  to  our  observations,  is 
in  latitude  27°  19'  9''  south,  and  longitude  56°  24'  48";  variation 
7°  35'  east.  It  is  within  half  a  mile  of  the  Parana,  of  which  and 
the  neighboring  country  it  commands  an  extensive  view.  The 
church  and  other  buildings  were  in  excellent  preservation ;  but 
the  jefe  was  absent,  and  the  next  dignitary,  "  el  secretario,"  would 
not  take  the  mighty  responsibility  of  opening  the  sacred  edifice, 
so  we  were  obliged  to  content  ourselves  with  admiring  the  exte- 
rior. It  was  three  hundred  feet  by  seventy ;  constructed  of  a  red 
sandstone  of  fine  grain,  not  unlike  that  so  much  used  in  our  coun- 
try at  present,  but  of  a  lighter  hue.  The  front  entrance  was  sup- 
ported by  octagonal  columns  of  the  same  stone,  twenty  feet  in 
length,  two  in  diameter,  each  of  one  piece,  and  beautifully  cut. 
"  El  secretario"  told  us  that  the  columns  and  flagging  of  the  inte- 
rior were  of  this  material,  which  had  been  taken  from  a  neighbor- 
ing quarry  on  the  Parana. 

Leaving  San  Cosmi  the  following  morning,  we  stopped,  after  a 
ride  of  five  hours,  for  siesta,  at  the  Estancia  San  Eafael.  Be- 
tween the  two  missions,  distant  from  each  other  thirty  miles,  we 
crossed  one  stream,  the  Arroyo  Atingi,  nine  miles  east  of  Santia- 
go.   The  first  part  of  the  day's  travel  was  made  through  a  campo, 


DRINKING  MATE. 


227 


but  before  reaching  tbe  mission  we  entered  a  rolling  country. 
On  one  of  its  wooded  elevations,  twenty -seven  miles  from  the  Pa- 
rana, stood  the  buildings  of  Santiago.  Eiding  into  a  large  court, 
formed  by  the  church  and  adjoining  houses,  we  were  most  kindly 
received  by  the  jefe,  Senor  Don  Francisco  Ignacio  Silvero,  who 
ushered  us  into  a  clean,  comfortable  dining-room,  where  mate  and 
cigars  were  soon  followed  by  an  excellent  supper.  I  was  much 
impressed  by  the  extreme  neatness  of  the  jefe's  dwelling,  and  the 
simple  manners,  but  perfect  ease  and  good-breeding,  of  his  wife 
and  daughter.  After  supper  we  retired  to  sleeping-rooms,  where 
were  snowy  beds  and  hammocks — another  evidence  Of  the  comfort 
and  refinement  of  this  home,  not  less  refreshing  than  astonishing, 
when  we  reflected  that  we  were  in  a  remote  corner  of  an  isolated 
country. 

Early  rising  is  a  fixed  habit  with  the  Paraguayans. 
The  next  morning,  before  we  were  aware  of  the  hour, 
there  was  a  tap  at  the  door,  followed  by  the  entrance  of 
a  little  negro  holding  in  each  hand  a  mat^.  Tliis  nation- 
al beverage  is  served  in  a  gourd,  often  richly  ornamented, 
and  is  imbibed  through  a  bombilla,  a  metallic  tube,  which 
at  the  bottom  expands  into  a  bulb,  pierced  with  holes  to 
act  as  a  strainer.  As  often  as  these  were  emptied  they 
were  replenished  by  the  darkey,  until  we  remembered 
the  custom  of  the  country,  and  said  "  Gradasy  In  all 
well-regulated  houses  the  servant  continues  to  serve  the 
national  beverage,  regardless  of  quantity,  until  this  word, 
which  means  both  "  Thanks"  and  "  Enough,"  is  uttered. 

Eefreshed  by  this  tea,  and 
well  supplied  with  fine  cigars, 
the  breakfast  of  the  early  morn- 
ing was  made.  Accompanied 
by  our  host,  we  went  to  visit 
the  church,  a  grand  old  build- 
ing three  hundred  feet  long 
and  in  excellent  preservation, 
so  far  as  time  and  the  elements 
had  worked ;  but  cupidity  and 
vandalism  had  despoiled  it  of  its 
ornaments.  The  ceilings  were 
elaborately  frescoed,  and  there  was  a  vast  deal  of  gilding,  statuary, 
and  carving  in  wood ;  but,  mutilated  and  defaced  as  they  were,  only 


MATE    AND  BOMBILLA. 


228  CHURCH  AT  SANTIAGO.— YERBA, 

the  eye  of  an  artist  or  connoisseur  could  liave  traced  any  beauty, 
in  subject  or  outlines.  It  must  be  remembered  that  I  had  neither 
written  record  nor  garrulous  guide  to  aid  my  eye  or  imagination ; 
and,  having  little  knowledge  of  art,  I  will  not  mislead  by  attempt 
at  description.  This  was  the  second  church  erected  by  the  Jesuits 
in  Paraguay,  the  first  being  that  of  San  Ignacio.  It  must,  there- 
fore, have  stood  over  two  centuries,  and  yet  its  solid  stone  walls 
looked  as  if  they  might  battle  with  time  for  a  thousand  years  to 
come.  Enough  remained  to  fill  the  most  indifferent  observer  with 
wonder,  in  remembering  that  a  half-dozen  Jesuits  and  their  Indian 
neophytes  were  the  architects,  builders,  sculptors,  and  painters  of 
this  wilderness.  The  people  of  the  country  dwell  much  upon  the 
wealth  and  beauty  of  these  churches,  even  to  the  time  oi'-'-  El  De- 
funto  f  and  in  the  course  of  this  journey  we  saw  frequently 
pieces  of  plate  that  looked  suspiciously  like  ^'sacred  vessels." 

The  surrounding  buildings  were  in  good  order,  and  generally 
occupied  by  Meztizos,  whose  physiognomies  were  much  more 
Guarani  than  Spanish.  The  church,  its  columns  and  flagging,  as 
well  as  the  adjoining  buildings,  were  of  the  red  sandstone  to  which 
I  have  before  alluded.  In  one  of  the  latter  were  several  hand- 
looms,  the  property  of  the  government,  for  weaving  cotton  cloth. 

Our  next  visit  was  to  a  grove  of  "yerba,"  the  ^'- 1  lex  Paraguay- 
ew5Z5,"  which  is  not  indigenous  to  this  part  of  Paraguay.  In  size 
and  foliage  it  resembles  the  orange-tree ;  its  flowers  grow  in  clus- 
ters, are  white,  and  closely  resemble  those  of  our  elder.  When 
matured,  the  seeds  are  perfectly  black,  and  very  like  grains  of 
pepper.  I  procured  some,  and  sent  them,  carefiilly  sealed  in  a 
tin  box,  to  the  United  States,  but  have  never  been  able  to  learn 
any  thing  of  them  since  my  return.  The  yerba  is  found  in  Bra- 
zil, but  the  Paraguay  leaf  is  considered  greatly  superior,  and  is  so 
eagerly  sought  in  every  part  of  Spanish  America  that  it  might 
become  a  source  of  large  revenue  both  to  the  government  and 
people,  were  it  not  that  at  present  the  trade  is  monopolized  by 
the  former,  and  the  supply  for  export  consequently  very  much 
diminished.  The  Jesuits  made  plantations  of  this  tree,  had  sev- 
eral varieties  of  it  at  all  their  missions,  and  found  the  quality  im- 
proved by  culture.  This  little  grove  had  been  propagated  from 
the  old  stock,  and  yielded  enough  for  the  wants  of  the  few  fami- 
lies at  the  mission. 

We  made  the  usual  observations,  which,  for  reasons  before 
given,  were  imperfect ;  but  this  was  among  the  places  subsequent- 


DIKNER  AT  THE  CAPILLA  SAN  MARTIN.  231 

ly  determined  by  Lieutenant  Powell,  and  found  to  be  in  latitude 
27°  7'  39"  south,  longitude  56°  50'  21''  west,  variation  7°  4'  east. 
The  position  of  Santiago  is  perhaps  not  so  attractive  as  that  of 
either  San  Cosmi  or  Ytapua ;  but  from  the  better  condition  of  the 
church  and  other  buildings,  and  from  the  fine  cultivation  of  the 
surrounding  country,  it  was  far  more  interesting.  I  thought  I 
could  see  the  influence  of  the  jefe's  example,  and  that  presented 
by  the  order  of  his  household,  upon  the  whole  community. 

Wheat  was  growing  in  this  neighborhood,  but  the  grain  was  not 
well  matured.  The  morning's  work  was  followed  by  an  excel- 
lent dinner;  and  when  about  to  continue  our  journey,  Don  Igna- 
cio  asked  my  acceptance  of  a  horse :  I  begged  him  not  to  add  to 
my  obligations ;  but  he  said  the  animal  should  be  sent  to  Asun- 
cion, where  he  would  himself  again  see  us,  as  he  was  one  of  the 
representatives  of  the  new  Congress  to  assemble  in  March  for  the 
election  of  President.  He  was  true  to  his  word.  Only  a  few 
days  had  elapsed  after  our  arrival  at  the  capital,  when  one  of  the 
finest  horses  I  had  yet  seen  in  Paraguay  was  brought  to  my  quar- 
ters, with  the  compliments  of  Don  Ignacio. 

At  sunset  we  reached  the  "Capilla  San  Martin,"  our  resting- 
place  for  the  night,  after  a  ride  of  eleven  miles  through  a  country 
sparsely  wooded,  but  cultivated  and  populous.  The  soil  is  a  red- 
dish clay.  The  occupant  of  the  one  house  at  this  place  met  all 
the  demands  of  hospitality  by  giving  us  the  best  his  larder  afford- 
ed. This  was  a  supper  of  stewed  beef  served  in  a  large  earthen 
dish,  which  was  placed  in  the  centre  of  a  small  round  table,  with- 
out knives,  forks,  or  plates.  But  armed,  as  each  was,  with  a 
wooden  spoon,  and  aided  by  good  appetites,  and  a  little  instruc- 
tion from  our  host,  Don  Antonio,  we  made  an  excellent  supper. 
At  its  conclusion,  a  negro  boy,  who  had  stood  during  the  repast 
like  a  statue  behind  the  chair  of  his  master,  suddenly  clasped 
his  hands,  and  with  the  gravity  of  a  bishop  returned  thanks  in  a 
clear,  distinct  voice.  Cigars  followed  the  "  grace,"  and  soon  after 
we  retired  to  our  hammocks,  slung  up  as  usual  outside  of  the 
house. 

In  the  morning,  before  day  had  fairly  dawned,  I  was  awakened 
by  voices  near  me.  Some  ten  or  twelve  peons,  or  laborers  of  the 
estancia,  were  standing  before  the  entrance  of  the  dwelling.  One 
of  them  knocked  upon  the  door,  giving  the  saluta'tion  ^^  Ave  3Ia- 
'na." — "  Sin  pecado  concehida^^''  said  Don  Antonio  solemnly,  as  he 
stepped  out  to  give  them  a  blessing,  in  Guarani;  after  which  they 


232  MISSIONS  OF  SANTA  MARIA  AND  SANTA  ROSA. 

dispersed.     I  afterward  learned  that  this  was  the  daily  custom  of 
many  estancieros  of  the  neighborhood. 

We  were  yet  within  the  limits  of  the  Missions.  The  old  church- 
es with  their  surroundings,  and  these  domestic  religious  observ-' 
ances,  are  the  only  traces  of  an  order  that  dominated  over  this  re- 
gion for  a  century  and  a  half 

Starting  at  an  early  hour  from  the  Capilla  San  Martin,  we  trav- 
eled for  twenty-seven  miles  through  a  fine,  fertile,  populous  coun- 
try, diversified  by  rolling  lands  and  plains.  On  the  route  we  vis- 
ited two  other  abandoned  missions,  Santa  Maria  and  Santa  Eosa. 
The  church  of  the  first  was  of  the  same  material  and  dimensions 
as  those  we  had  already  seen;  the  frescoes,  carving,  and  gilding 
were  even  more  elaborate.  A  few  pictures  still  hung  around  the 
sanctuary,  and  what  remained  of  the  wood-work  was  extremely 
beautiful.  The  exquisite  color  and  fine  texture  of  the  Paraguay 
woods  make  them  invaluable  for  such  a  purpose.  Santa  Eosa 
was  also  constructed  of  fine  sandstone,  and  differed  only  in  size 
from  those  already  described,  being  rather  smaller.  It  was  in  such 
admirable  condition  that  I  regretted  the  loss  of  our  daguerreo- 
type instruments,  which  would  have  enabled  me  to  present  some 
representations  of  its  frescoes.  Ulloa  tells  us  that  the  churches  of 
these  Paraguayan  missions  equaled  the  finest  ecclesiastical  struc- 
tures in  Peru ;  and  other  writers  give  us  the  impression  that  those 
of  Peru  were  unsurpassed  by  many  of  the  finest  in  Spain. 

We  met  with  a  hospitable  reception  at  the  estancia  of  Seiiora 
Maria  Petronella  Casara,  in  the  Partido  of  San  Juan,  where  we 
stopped  for  the  night.  The  position  of  her  dwelling,  on  a  wooded 
hill,  was  beautiful,  and  the  improvements  within  and  around  it 
were  superior  to  any  we  had  yet  seen.  There  were  touches  of 
foreign  taste  and  comfort,  which  were  explained  when  Seiiora  Ma- 
ria informed  me  that  she  was  the  widow  of  a  "  Frenchman,"  as 
all  foreigners  are  called  in  Paraguay,  the  people  troubling  them- 
selves little  with  geographical  science.  We  were  repeatedly  ask- 
ed if  we  were  Frenchmen,  and  were  regarded  doubtfully  when  we 
answered  in  the  negative.  It  is  whispered  that  President  Lopez 
is  both  a  sleeping  and  wide-awake  partner  in  a  "Paraguay  House" 
at  Paris,  and  that  the  periodical  arrival  of  certain  gay  fabrics  and 
fashions  serves  to  keep  alive  this  impression  of  French  ascendency 
among  the  female  portion  of  the  population.  Senoi^a  Maria  gave 
us  an  excellent  supper,  but  was  much  annoyed  at  not  receiving 
more  assistance  in  its  preparation  from  her  two  fair  daughters, 


SENOR  CABENAS.— CAAPUCU.  233 

who  evidently  found  the  society  of  the  young  officers  of  my  party 
more  agreeable  than  household  duties.  The  next  morning,  after 
being  served,  as  usual,  with  mate,  we  said  "  adios'''  to  the  ladies, 
and  continued  our  journey.  For  twelve  miles  this  lay  through 
an  unbroken  plain,  without  apparently  any  unoccupied  spaces,  so 
numerous  were  estancias  and  farms.  Near  the  Capilla  San  Miguel 
we  crossed  the  Tibiquari,  which  at  low  water  has  a  depth  of  from 
three  to  four  feet.  This  river  forms  the  northern  and  western 
boundary  of  the  "  Missions." 

Six  miles  beyond  we  stopped  for  dinner  and  siesta  at  the  house 
of  a  rich  estanciero,  Senor  Cabenas,  where  we  met  with  unusual 
luxury.  Dinner  was  served  on  massive  plate ;  water-goblets  and 
salvers  were  also  of  pure  silver.  All  other  appointments  of  this 
establishment,  though  simple,  were  exceedingly  comfortable.  In 
Paraguay  the  siesta  follows  dinner  as  naturally  as  day  is  succeeded 
by  night.  So,  after  cigars  and  a  chat  with  our  host,  who  was  a 
man  of  intelligence  and  polished  manners,  we  were  shown  to  sleep- 
ing apartments,  where  the  extreme  neatness  of  beds  and  ham- 
mocks invited  repose. 

Our  next  resting-place  for  the  night  was  the  Capilla  Caapucu, 
distant  from  the  estancia  of  Senor  Cabenas  nine  miles.  Since 
leaving  the  Tibiquari  we  had  found  the  lands  fertile.  Mountains, 
forests,  and  plains,  all  brilliant  with  verdure,  made  the  aspect  of 
the  country  impressively  beautiful. 

In  Paraguay  foreigners  are  a  "  sight,"  and  when  we  reached 
Caapucu  all  occupants  of  the  surrounding  houses  collected  to  see 
us  dismount.  We  were  well  received,  but  I  thought  the  poor  jefe 
looked  embarrassed  at  the  arrival  of  so  large  a  party.  However, 
relief  was  at  hand.  A  gentleman  rode  up  on  a  fine  spirited  horse, 
and,  from  a  whispered  conversation,  witk  many  glances  at  us,  I 
"  guessed"  that  we  were  the  subject  of  a  talk.  The  horseman  dis- 
mounted, came  forward,  and  invited  us  cordially  to  return  with 
him  to  his  estancia,  which  he  represented  as  being  near.  We 
were  very  tired ;  but  presuming  that  this  arrangement  was  made 
to  relieve  the  jefe,  who  found  it  inconvenient  to  accommodate  so 
many  persons,  we  followed  Senor  Vasconcellos.  His  dwelling, 
which  I  had  supposed  within  a  short  distance  of  the  Capilla,  gave 
us  a  ride  of  six  miles ;  but  the  jovial  conversation  of  our  new 
friend,  the  courteous  reception  given  us  by  his  wife  and  daughter, 
and  a  bountiful  supper,  fully  compensated  for  the  trouble.  He 
was  a  Portuguese,  who,  thirty  years  before,  had  stepped  over  from 


234  SENOR  VASCONCELLOS. 

Brazil  into  Paraguay,  liad  married  a  daughter  of  the  republic,  be- 
coming one  of  its  citizens,  and  tbe  father  of  a  large  family.  It  was 
novel  and  refreshing  to  meet  a  man  of  intelligence  who  seemed 
neither  disturbed  by  the  ghost  of  Francia,  nor  the  living  power  of 
Lopez,  and  who  could  converse  freely  and  with  spirit  upon  the 
state  of  the  country.  The  absence  of  statistics,  and  the  timid  re- 
serve of  the  inhabitants  in  alluding  to  the  government,  made  it 
very  difS.cult  to  arrive  at  a  fair  estimate  of  the  condition  and  re- 
sources of  Paraguay.  The  people  always  spoke  with  hesitation 
and  in  a  low  voice,  as  if  they  feared  that  the  walls  had  ears  or  we 
were  spies. 

Seuor  Yasconcellos  was  surrounded  by  much  to  make  him 
happy.  It  is  true  his  lands  were  the  property  of  the  state,  but  he 
had  fine  herds  of  cattle,  a  garden,  a  spacious  stone  house,  pleasant 
family  circle,  and  a  daughter  happily  married,  and  residing  upon 
an  adjoining  estancia. 

Bad  weather  detained  us  three  days,  and  gave  me  the  oppor- 
tunity of  visiting  his  son-in-law,  whose  house  and  grounds  were  in 
better  condition  than  many  we  had  seen,  and  showed,  I  thought, 
the  influence  and  energy  of  the  father-in-law. 

While  strolling  over  his  land  I  observed  indications  of  iron,  and 
said  to  him,  "  I  think  you  have  a  vein  of  iron  ore  on  your  estan- 
cia?" 

He  replied  gravely,  "  My  dear  sir,  it  is  the  last  thing  I  should 
care  to  find;  for  my  land  is  public  domain,  and  if  ore  is  discovered 
I  must  be  forced  to  relinquish  it  to  the  government,  and  make 
another  home." 

In  the  course  of  our  walk,  I  saw  a  magnificent  copaiba ;  the 
ground  beneath  was  covered  with  its  seeds,  a  few  of  which  I  col- 
lected and  sent  to  the  United  States.  From  a  small  tree  in  the 
yard  of  Senor  Yasconcellos  I  also  gathered  seeds  of  the  hurucu, 
which  were  likewise  sent  home.  The  latter  yield  a  fine  red  paint, 
greatly  sought  by  the  Indians  to  adorn  their  bodies,  and  occasion- 
ally used  in  Paraguay  for  painting  the  interior  wood-work  of 
houses.  The  natives  extract  the  color  by  the  very  simple  process 
of  soaking  the  seeds  for  some  days  in  glue  water.  I  experimented 
by  leaving  them  in  a  glass  of  pure  water  for  twenty-four  hours, 
when,  finding  the  coloring  matter  well  extracted,  I  poured  the 
whole  through  a  piece  of  gauze ;  the  sediment  remained,  a  fine 
powder  of  brilliant  hue. 

Though  two  dollars  the  square  league  is  the  fixed  price  for  the 


THE  DIEZMO.  235 

rent  of  these  lands  the  diezmo  is  a  heavy  impost.  It  is,  in  fact, 
half  of  the  '■'■royal  fifihJ^  Among  the  last  and  very  few  good  de- 
crees of  Francia  was  one  abolishing  this  tax,  but  it  was  imposed 
anew  by  Lopez.  A  tenth  part  of  the  increase  of  the  herds  I  saw 
upon  these  two  estancias  would  be  no  inconsiderable  rent,  and  the 
revenue  of  the  government  from  this  source,  though  not  made 
known,  must  be  very  considerable,  for  the  tenth  of  every  product, 
even  that  of  vegetables  and  fowls,  is  exacted.  As  the  actual  col- 
lection and  sale  of  the  diezmo  in  kind  would  be  a  troublesome 
business,  each  partido  is  farmed  out  to  the  highest  bidder,  who 
again  bargains  with  the  producer,  or  estanciero,  for  his  portion,  or 
its  equivalent.  The  small  farmers  rarely  have  money,  therefore 
their  produce  is  sold  at  the  nearest  village. 

The  people,  as  might  be  expected  under  such  a  system,  evade 
the  law  by  the  most  amusing  and  ingenious  expedients,  such  as 
planting  nine  rows  of  mandioca,  and  declaring  that  there  can  he 
no  tenth.  If  government  would  pursue  a  more  enlightened  policy, 
sell  the  public  lands,  reduce  the  export  duties,  abolish  the  diezmo, 
the  monopolies  in  timber,  yerba,  caoutchouc,  etc.,  the  enterprise  of 
the  Paraguayans  would  be  awakened  by  the  stimulus  of  trade, 
and  the  public  revenue  would  probably  greatly  exceed  its  present 
amount.  There  might  be,  even  for  Paraguay,  a  "manifest  des- 
tiny." Lopez  has  the  ability,  if  he  had  the  will,  to  imitate  Ur- 
quiza,  and  put  the  ball  in  motion. 

The  public  lands  embrace  three  fourths  of  the  whole  country, 
and  there  is  a  governmental  control  even  over  the  actual  products 
of  each  partido.  The  commander  of  a  district  may  order  one 
tenant  to  cultivate  tobacco,  another  com,  making  them  all  in  fact 
but  laborers  of  the  state. 

I  parted  with  regret  from  our  new  friends,  but  with  the  expect- 
ation of  meeting  Senor  Vasconcellos  soon  at  Asuncion,  as  he  had 
been  chosen  a  member  of  the  ensuing  Congress. 

Our  road,  for  twenty  miles,  lay  through  a  fine'roUing  country, 
and  at  noon  we  reached  the  Estancia  Bergarran.  I  proposed 
stopping  at  this  place  for  dinner  and  siesta.  As  we  approached 
the  dwelling,  which  was  placed  upon  a  hill  and  embowered  by 
magnificent  trees,  a  venerable  old  man,  who  was  seated  before  the 
entrance,  came  forward,  and  with  a  dignified  but  courteous  man- 
ner, said,  "  Pa^a  adelante,  Senoresy  How  pleasantly  that  greeting 
of  Senor  Bergarran  sounded  to  our  tired  party !  and  yet  literally 
it  meant  but  "Walk  in,  sirs." 


236  SENOR  BERGARRAN.— IRON-WORKS. 

Books  are  rarely  numbered  among  the  luxuries  or  resources  of 
Paraguayans ;  I  was  therefore  somewhat  astonished  to  find  that 
our  host  possessed  a  small  but  admirable  collection.  The  title  of 
a  little  Spanish  pamphlet  attracted  my  attention.  It  was  the 
"  Articles  of  the  Confederation  of  the  Thirteen  Original  States  of 
North  America :  December  4th,  1776."  Senor  Bergarran  has 
been  a  prominent  man  in  Paraguay,  and  is  said  to  be  still  very 
popular  with  a  large  party,  who,  after  the  death  of  Francia,  wished 
to  place  him  at  the  head  of  the  government.  He  was  very  cau- 
tious in  alluding  to  the  present  condition  of  his  country,  but  was 
evidently  a  man  of  more  than  ordinary  intelligence. 

Our  next  resting-place  was  to  be  at  the  Government  Iron  Works, 
the  buildings  of  which  are  at  the  foot  of  the  Sierra  Mbonaypey, 
upon  the  banks  of  a  small  river  navigable  for  boats  to  the  Tibi- 
quari.  The  mountains  were  covered  from  base  to  summit  with 
forests  of  gigantic  trees,  and  the  superintendent  of  the  works — a 
Swede,  Senor  Don  Augusto  Lidiedat — told  me  that  they  teemed 
with  a  precious  vegetation,  rare  medicinal  plants,  gums,  resins, 
dye-stuffs,  and  woods  valued  for  all  mechanical  or  ornamental 
purposes.  He  had  made  a  collection  of  plants,  studied  their  prop- 
erties, and  now  used  them  exclusively  and  successfully  in  medical 
practice  among  the  workmen  of  the  mines.  With  all  the  eager- 
ness and  the  indomitable  perseverance  that  characterized  the  Span- ' 
ish  conquerors  in  their  search  for  gold,  and  all  the  energy  of  the 
Jesuits  in  developmg  the  resources  of  Paraguay,  it  seems  inex- 
plicable that  they  should  have  totally  overlooked  its  mountain 
ranges.  No  scientific  explorations  have  yet  been  made  in  these 
districts,  and  up  to  this  time  iron  ore  and  zinc  are  the  only  dis- 
coveries.* Like  the  ranges  of  Northwestern  Brazil,  they  will 
probably  be  found  rich  in  a  variety  of  minerals. 

The  ore  of  Caapucu  yields  seventy-four  per  cent. ;  that  of  San 
Miguel  forty-eight.  The  latter,  though  smaller  in  quantity,  is 
said  to  be  unequaled  in  quality.  The  superintendent  gave  me 
specimens  of  these  ores,  also  some  of  zinc ;  and  though  the  lands 
yielding  the  last  have  been  but  partially  examined,  they  indicate 
an  abundant  supply.  Properly  worked  by  private  enterprise,  the 
mines  already  opened  would  probably  supply  not  only  Paraguay, 
but  the  lower  states  of  La  Plata.  All  works  of  this  kind  must 
necessarily  be  initiated  by  foreigners;  but  their  labors  are  not 

*  And  these  have  been  pronounced,  by  former  writers  on  Paraguay,  as  not  ex- 
isting within  its  territory. 


A  WEALTHY  CONVICT.— IBICUI.  237 

properly  appreciated  or  rewarded.  The  machinerj  for  this  place 
was  commenced  by  an  Englishman,  who  died  before  its  comple- 
tion ;  and  the  present  superintendent,  though  a  man  of  ability 
and  energy,  was,  before  we  left  the  country,  coolly  informed  that 
his  services  were  no  longer  needed.  Don  Augusto  made  some 
additions  to  our  botanic  collections,  and  seemed  delighted  to  have 
an  opportunity  of  unreserved  conversation  with  foreigners,  who 
could  appreciate  and  understand  his  labors. 

My  attention  was  attracted  by  the  appearance  of  a  man  who 
waited  on  the  table  during  dinner ;  his  dress  was  more  that  of  a 
country  gentleman  than  a  servant,  and  his  countenance  peculiarly 
sad  and  subdued.  I  found  my  eyes  continually  wandering  toward 
this  individual,  whose  manner  disquieted  me,  for  he  moved  about 
heavily,  and  as  if  his  task  was  a  weary  one. 

After  dinner  the  superintendent  asked  me  if  I  had  observed  the 
waiter. 

"  Yes.     What  is  he  ?     "Who  is  he  ?" 

"  The  richest  man  in  Eastern  Paraguay.  He  has  a  very  large, 
well-stocked  estancia." 

"  And  yet  is  here  as  a  servant?" 

"  Yes ;  he  was  guilty  of  the  ungallant  act  of  whipping  a  woin- 
an,  and  the  President  has  degraded  him  to  be  a  servant  at  the 
Iron  Works.  He  will,  at  last,  liberate  himself  only  by  paying  a 
large  sum,  or  its  equivalent  in  cattle." 

So  much  for  the  rights  of  women  and  the  summary  administra- 
tion of  the  law. 

The  next  morning,  after  a  cup  of  coffee — an  unusual  luxury  in 
Paraguay — we  continued  our  journey.  The  rain  poured  in  tor- 
rents; and,  thoroughly  drenched,  we  arrived  at  Ibicui,  unfortu- 
nately at  the  hour  of  siesta.  We  called  first  at  the  house  of  the 
juez.  He  was  asleep,  and  could  not  be  disturbed.  We  rode  on 
to  the  "  Padre's ;"  and  as  I  told  the  vaqueano  that  shelter  must 
be  found,  he  assumed  the  great  responsibility  of  having  the  rev- 
erend gentleman  awakened,  and  we  were  shown  by  his  orders  to 
a  vacant  house.  The  horses  were  turned  into  the  plaza  to  graze ; 
and  the  vaqueano,  who  went  in  search  of  supplies,  returned  fol- 
lowed by  a  woman  who  undertook  to  cook  a  supper  of  asado  and 
pucharo.  Then  slinging  up  hammocks,  or  settling  ourselves  upon 
the  brick  floor,  with  saddles  and  ponchos  for  bedding,  we  prepared 
to  spend  the  night.  Ibicui  was  one  of  the  few  places  at  which  we 
met  with  inhospitable  treatment ;  and  this  I  attributed  to  our  un- 


238  PRODUCTS  AND  EXPORTS. 

fortunate  arrival  at  the  time  of  siesta.  One  might  arouse  a  Par- 
aguayan at  any  hour  of  the  night,  and  find  him  good-natured; 
but  at  the  hour  of  siesta,  never. 

The  next  morning  we  left  this  village,  the  position  of  which, 
at  the  base  of  the  Si'ejra  Tatuqua,  a  truncated  cone,  was  very 
beautiful.  Traveling  through  a  fine  campo,  watered  by  the  small 
stream  Canavaz,  we  reached  the  house  of  Senora  Maria  Patrone 
Aldena,  where  we  breakfasted.  From  this  place  our  "road  lay 
through  a  narrow  valley,  hemmed  in  on  either  side  by  high 
mountains,  their  low  ridges  covered  with  the  adobe  houses,  or 
thatched  huts,  of  a  comparatively  dense  population.  Passing  the 
Pueblo  Paraguayri — the  nearest  approach  we  had  yet  made  to 
our  outward-bound  route-^we  arrived  for  the  night  at  a  govern- 
ment posta,  and  with  difiiculty  obtained  provision  for  man  or 
beast.  Our  next  and  last  day's  journey  to  Asuncion,  45  miles, 
was  through  a  fertile,  populous,  rolling  country,  with  magnificent 
forests.     The  soil  is  sandy. 

I  had  now,  by  a  circuitous  route,  traveled  600  miles,  through 
what  was  represented  to  me  as  the  most  populous  districts  of 
Paraguay,  and  found  them  every  where  abounding  in  natural  re- 
sources. Science  has  made  no  progressive  innovations  in  the 
processes  of  culture.  The  agricultural  and  mechanical  imple- 
ments are  still  of  the  rudest  description ;  the  plows  are  of  wood ; 
cotton  is  spun  and  woven  by  hand-looms ;  sugar-cane  is  pressed 
in  wooden  mills ;  and  cigars  are  manufactured  by  families  at  their 
own  dwellings.  The  actual  products  are  undoubtedly  meagre, 
when  we  consider  the  adaptation  of  both  soil  and  climate  to  agri- 
culture ;  and  yet  the  aggregate  amount,  even  under  the  present 
primitive  system,  is  considerable.  The  indigenous  vegetation  is 
extraordinarily  prolific.  Forests  and  plains  teem  with  medical 
and  edible  plants,  gums,  resins,  and  dye-stufis.  Many  woods  pos- 
sess the  value  of  metals,  in  their  power  to  resist  the  action  of 
water  and  atmosphere.  The  fibrous  tissues  of  several  abundant 
species  of  aloe  furnish  a  new  raw  material  for  manufacturing  en- 
terprise. The  yerba,  as  the  experiments  of  the  Jesuits  proved, 
can  be  grown  in  quantities  to  meet  any  demand.  I  might  be 
suspected  of  exaggeration  if  I  should  enumerate  the  many  articles, 
such  as  caoutchouc,  wax,  palm  oil,  indigo,  cotton,  rice,  sugar,  and 
coffee,  that  could  be  added  as  staple  commodities  to  those  named, 
as  legitimately  recognized  in  the  trade  of  this  country.  Indigo, 
though  cultivated  to  a  most  limited  extent,  might  become  one  of 


CLIMATE  AND  PRODUCTIONS.  239 

the  most  valuable  articles  of  export.  There  are  several  varieties 
growing  wild,  and  their  quality,  so  far  as  tested,  seems  little  infe- 
rior to  the  cultivated  plant.  According  to  Azara,  silk  could  be 
produced,  as  the  mulberry  is  indigenous. 

Before  the  Revolution  the  exports  of  Paraguay  to  Buenos 
Ayres  and  the  interior  provinces  of  La  Plata  reached  nearly  a 
million  and  a  half  of  dollars.  Among  them  were  eight  million 
pounds  of  yerba  and  a  million  pounds  of  tobacco.  After  the  mo- 
nopoly of  the  sale  of  tobacco  by  the  "Regia"  of  Spain,  the  supply 
for  the  mother  country  fell  from  15,000  to  5000  quintals.  I  have 
made  no  allusion  to  the  culture  of  the  sugar-cane.  It  grows 
readily,  but  receives  little  attention ;  a  few  rows  yield  molasses 
enough  for  home  consumption  and  a  small  quantity  for  exporta- 
tion. Though  "yerba"  is  found  in  the  humblest  hut,  the  people 
generally  prefer  "  mate  amargd''  (bitter  mate). 

Though  our  journey  was  made  during  the  last  summer  month, 
February,  we  found  it  warm,  but  not  oppressive.  The  nights 
were  uniformly  pleasantly  cool,  and  I  avoided  the  heat  of  a  me- 
ridional sun  by  stopping  for  siesfa  and  dinner.  The  temperature 
ranged  from  76°  to  90° — not  often  above  the  first.  These  ex- 
tremes are  produced  more  decidedly  by  the  shifting  of  the  wind 
than  by  a  change  of  seasons;  those  from  the  south  causing  a 
rapid  fall  in  the  thermometer,  while  those  from  the  equatorial 
regions  produce  the  reverse  effect  and  the  greatest  degree  of  heat. 
I  often  slept  in  the  open  air,  but  experienced  no  bad  effects.  The 
usual  sleeping-place  of  both  officers  and  crew  of  the  Water  Witch 
was  on  deck,  under  an  awning,  yet  we  had  but  a  few  cases  of 
slight  chills,  which  yielded  readily  to  the  usual  medical  treatment, 
and  very  often  were  escaped  altogether  by  avoiding  unnecessary 
exposure  and  too  great  indulgence  in  fruit.  In  referring  to  my 
journal  for  the  months  of  March  and  April,  my  attention  is  par- 
ticularly attracted  by  the  very  great  range  of  the  thermometer 
for  this  latitude — 25°  south.     It  says : 

'' March  Z\st.  4P.M.  Wind  north;  thermometer  80° ;  cool  and 
pleasant.  A-pril  ^ili.  Yesterday  and  to-day,  at  7  A.M.,  thermome- 
ter 63° ;  wind  northeast ;  weather  clear.  Ajpril  1th.  Thermome- 
ter 93°  ;  wind  northeast ;  weather  clear." 

Such  changes  are  sensibly  felt,  and  would  doubtless  produce 
sickness  were  not  the  variations  from  a  high  to  a  low  tempera- 
ture of  very  short  continuance. 

In  no  part  of  Paraguay  that  I  visited,  not  even  at  Asuncion, 


240  COTTON.— SCENERY. 

could  a  physician  find  full  occupation  or  obtain  a  maintenance. 
When  at  the  capital,  the  surgeon  of  the  Water  Witch  was  occa- 
sionally sent  for ;  but  he  made  no  charge,  not  even  the  established 
one  of  twelve  and  a  half  cents  the  visit.  So  unusual  is  such  at- 
tendance that,  when  he  gave  a  prescription,  he  was  frequently 
questioned  by  the  patient  or  a  member  of  the  family  as  to  the 
price  of  the  medicine. 

There  is  little  individual  wealth.  The  property  of  the  richest 
man  would  scarcely  bring  $50,000.  But  there  are  few  or  none 
positively  needy ;  for  Nature,  with  wondrous  bounty,  supplies  the 
necessities  of  her  children  almost  without  exertion,  and  the  com- 
forts essential  to  health  under  the  seasonal  vicissitudes  of  other 
latitudes  are  here  unnecessary.  The  principal  exports  at  present 
are  yerba,  tobacco,  oranges,  mandioca  (cor^verted  into  starch  and 
sweetmeats),  ground-nuts,  molasses,  cana,  and  rum.  It  will  be  ob- 
served that  cotton  is  not  enumerated,  and  yet  Ulloa  says,  in  speak- 
ing of  the  resources  of  Paraguay:  "Cotton  contributes  consider- 
ably to  their  riches,  growing  here  in  such  quantities  that  every 
little  village  gathers  of  it  annually  above  two  thousand  arobas, 
and  the  industrious  are  very  ingenious  in  weaving  it  into  stuffs 
for  exportation,"  Both  climate  and  soil  are  admirably  adapted  to 
its  growth ;  but  the  low  rate  at  which  merchants  are  enabled 
profitably  to  introduce  the  foreign  manufactured  article,  which 
now,  in  value,  exceeds  the  aggregate  amount  of  all  other  importa- 
tions, has  caused  the  abandonment  of  its  culture.  The  retail  price 
of  domestic  cottons,  previously  to  the  opening  of  the  rivers,  va- 
ried, according  to  its  quality,  from  fifty  cents  to  one  dollar  and 
fifty  cents  per  yard.  Now  the  foreign  article  sells  from  6^  to  20 
cents,  and  the  raw  product,  in  very  small  quantities,  for  12^  cents 
the  pound,  in  the  seed.  It  is  spun  with  the  distaff,  woven  in  hand- 
looms,  worked  into  embroidered  skirts  and  house-linen,  which  are 
sold  abroad  only  as  specimens  of  Paraguayan  handiwork. 

I  can  convey  no  faithful  impression  of  the  beauty  of  the  face 
of  the  country.  It  presents  throughout,  from  river  to  river,  the 
most  varied  physical  features ;  fine  alternations  of  mountains, 
forests,  and  plains.  The  lofty  Mbenaypey,  crowned  by  primeval 
forests,  and  the  Ytagua  with  its  truncated  cone,  though  but  hil- 
locks compared  with  the  majestic  eminences  of  the  Andean  range, 
are  imposing  objects  in  the  mountain  system.  Through  whole 
districts  the  sierras  are  covered  by  forests  of  gigantic  trees,  and 
slope  by  rounded  wooded  hills  to  the  broad  sunlit  plains,  which 


GOVEENMENT  AND  THE  PEOPLE.  241 

were  every  where  brilliant  with  verdure,  and  intersected  by  peren- 
nial streams.  The  hill-sides  were  enlivened  by  the  habitations  of 
a  numerous  population,  and  the  plains  were  covered  by  herds  and 
flocks,  which,  with  the  approach  of  night,  could  be  seen  seeking 
the  protection  of  corrals  that  dotted  the  campos.  We  saw  no 
sterile  wastes.  The  whole  land  seemed  to  be  enriched  by  the 
vegetable  tribes  of  tropical  and  temperate  zones.  The  air  was 
laden  at  times  with  the  rich  odors  of  orange  blossoms  and  aromatic 
shrubs ;  and  yet  the  climate  there,  as  in  every  part  of  the  basin  of 
La  Plata  that  I  visited,  is  free  from  the  humidity  and  excessive 
heat,  which,  in  other  sections  of  this  continent,  exhaust  the  powers 
of  man,  or  increase  those  of  nature  beyond  his  control.  All  that 
fine  country  is  occupied  by  a  people  simple,  kind,  and  hospitable. 
Thefts  are  not  unfrequent,  but  a  higher  degree  of  crime  is  rare. 
The  administration  of  President  Lopez  is,  so  far  as  I  could  learn, 
unstained  by  bloodshed.  Though  the  Paraguayans  groaned  for  a 
quarter  of  a  century  under  the  sanguinary  tyranny  of  Francia, 
they  have  been  saved  from  the  demorahzing  civil  contests  that 
have  almost  depopulated  other  states  of  La  Plata. 

But  let  not  this  beauty  or  fertility  tempt  foreigners  to  enter  Par- 
aguay for  permanent  occupation  without  the  protection  of  treat- 
ies. The  government  owns  three  fourths  of  the  land,  and  has  nu- 
merous estancias ;  yet  when  beef  is  required  for  the  army  or  public 
laborers,  it  not  unfrequently  draws  on  the  stock  of  a  private  es- 
tate, allowing  the  owner  half  the  value  of  each  hide,  for  which  he 
must  receive,  as  payment,  one  third  in  paper*  money,  one  third  in 
cotton  goods,  and  the  remainder  in  silver.  Store-houses  are  also 
established  in  every  district.  These  are  another  source  of  public 
revenue ;  but  they  interfere  at  the  same  time  with  individual 
rights.  The  commandantes  of  partidos  are  but  the  stewards  or 
agents  of  the  principal  merchant,  the  sub-venders  of  government 
stock  in  cattle  and  goods. 

The  period  of  the  presidential  election  was  approaching  (the 
4th  of  March,  1854),  but  among  the  members  of  the  new  Congress 
I  missed  our  hospitable  friend  Senor  Vasconcellos.  He  is,  I  pre- 
sume, too  independent  in  his  views  to  please  the  party  in  power, 
and  upon  second  thoughts  was  permitted  to  stgiy  at  home.  I  was 
anxious  to  be  present  at  the  sittings  of  the  National  Legislature, 
but  to  my  inquiry,  "Will  strangers  be  admitted?"  I  received 
only  a  mysterious  shrug  of  the  shoulders,  and  a  "  iVb  se,  Senor ^^"^ 

*  Equivalent  to  specie. 

16 


242  MEETING  OF  CONGRESS. 

(I  don't  know,  sir).  I  intended  to  ask  tke  President,  but  it  was 
intimated  to  me  that  the  request  would  not  be  acceptable,  as  none 
of  the  citizens  were  allowed  to  enter.  His  Excellency  presided 
in  person,  and  read  a  well-written  message,  afterward  published, 
which  gave,  or  professed  to  give,  a  minute  history  of  the  country 
since  the  last  Congress  in  1849.  He  represented  in  strong  lan- 
guage its  prosperity,  which,  with  consummate  tact,  he  attributed 
not  so  much  to  the  ability  of  the  executive  as  to  the  wisdom  of 
the  honorable  Eepresentatives.  They  had  not  met  to  legislate. 
His  Excellency  relieves  them  of  that  responsibility.  So,  dutifully 
giving  their  votes  without  a  dissenting  voice,  after  a  sitting  of  three 
days  they  adjourned  sine  die. 

One  member  had  moved  a  resolution  to  make  the  President 
Emperor,  with  the  honor  hereditary  in  his  family.  This  he  wisely 
declined.  In  grasping  the  shadow  he  might  have  lost  the  reality. 
He  is  de  facto  Emperor,  and  the  succession  is  probably  secured  to 
his  son.  The  struggles  of  the  Eevolution  are  perhaps  not  forgot- 
ten, and  imperial  or  royal  titles  might  alarm  even  the  simple 
Paraguayans. 

I  asked  the  President,  on  one  occasion,  if  he  could  furnish  me 
with  a  copy  of  their  constitution,  alleging,  as  a  reason  for  the  re- 
quest, my  ignorance  of  the  existence  of  any  such  state  paper,  and 
my  desire  to  become  acquainted  with  the  fundamental  law  on 
which  their  government  was  based.  With  some  hesitation,  he 
replied,  "  The  constitution  is  not  complete ;  it  is  now  under  re- 
vision." I  had  before  made  attempts  to  procure  a  copy,  but 
without  success ;  indeed,  all  my  efforts  to  obtain  information  as  to 
the  state  of  the  country  were  met  by  a  timid  hesitancy.  I  really 
believe  that  the  habit  of  unquestioning  submission  is  so  fixed 
that  few  know  themselves  how  they  are  governed.  Still  without 
political  aspirations,  as  in  the  time  of  Francia,  they  humbly,  and 
seemingly  with  confidence,  confer  upon  the  President  the  admin- 
istration of  all  political  affairs,  a  power  the  present  incumbent  is 
as  prompt  in  taking  upon  himself  as  he  is  unscrupulous  in  its  ex- 
ercise. "Bandos"  are  issued  as  occasions  call  for  them,  having  a 
retrospective  as  well  as  prospective  bearing. 

The  following  table  gives  the  exports  from  Asuncion  during 
the  year  1854 : 


EXPORTS  FROM  ASUNCION. 


243 


Yerba 

Tobacco  

Cigars  

Timber 

Raw  hides 

Tanned  hides 

Horse-hair 

Tan-bark 

Starch  

Oranges 

Sweetmeats , 

Molasses 

Sugar 

Sugar-cane 

Rura 

Maize  (corn) 

Rice 

Beans 

Meal  (mandioca). 

Ground-nuts 

Algarrobilla 

Paddles 

Bamboos 


Lime , 


Earthenware , 


85,670 

103,868 

5,264 

30,313 

38,957 

15,506 

3,205 

15,920 

23,325 

266,893 

29,588 

30,068 

7 

35,600 

12,534 

29,992 

54 

3,394 

706 

6,264 

775 

196 

3,724 

^       200 

I  1 


arobas. 

(( 

thousand. 

varas. 

pesadas. 

hides. 

arobas. 


almudas. 

arobas. 

asumbres. 

arobas. 

canes. 

frascas. 

almudas. 

arobas. 


dozens. 

fanegas  ( = 
2  almudas). 


Total  amount  of  exports  in  1854.. 
"  18.53.. 

"  1852.. 

"  1851.. 


(1 


$282,489 

148,164 

12,508 

49,050 

150,287 

00,0.50 

9,833 

2,719 

10,596 

11,288 

19,086 

1,279 

20 

53 

3,108 

597 

17 

984 

179 

1,164 

96 

472 

235 

500 

63 


$777,557 
691,932 
474,499 
341,380 


Number  of  vessels  that 
arrived  in  Asuncion  during 
the  year  1854  was  160, 
with  about  8000  tons ;  of 
which  2  were  British,  31 
Paraguayan,  116  Argen- 
tine, and  11  Oriental. 

The  export  duty  is  10 
per  cent,  on  almost  every 
article,  excepting  starch, 
which  pays  6  per  cent. 

Of  the  exports  of  1854, 
82,882  arobas  of  yerba, 
2074  pesadas  of  raw  hides, 
52,670  varas  of  timber,  and 
311  arobas  of  horse-hair, 
paid  no  duty,  being  ex- 
ported or  sold  by  the  gov- 
ernment. 

The  value  of  these  articles 
is  about  $300,000,  leaving 
only  about  $477,800  worth 
of  produce  exported  by 
the  trade,  making  a  bal- 
ance against  the  market 
of  $222,500,  assuming 
$700,000  as  the  actual 
value  of  the  imports. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

Expedition  under  Geronimo  Metorras. — Colonel  Arrias. — Murillo  and  Lapa. — 
Colonel  Ariadne  Cornejo. — Don  Pablo  Soria. — Steamer  Pilcomayo. — Lieutenant 
Powell  instructed  to  enter  the  Interior  of  Paraguay. — Want  of  Game  and  Fish. 
— Force  of  the  Current. — Tobas  Indians. — Nacurutu. — Palms. — Rio  Saco. — De 
loi  Carui. — Visit  to  the  Toldo — Paso  da  Lurbi. — River  ascended  one  hundred 
and  twenty  Miles. — Channel. — Descending  a  Cascade. — A  Hunt  with  Dr.  Car- 
ter.— Lost. — Signals. — The  Howitzer  replies. — Safe  Return. — Descending  the 
River. — Mr.  Hickman. — Letter  from  Mr.  Dana. 

Our  next  field  of  operation  was  the  Yermejo  River.  Even  up 
to  the  last  quarter  of  the  eighteenth  century  the  spirit  of  enter- 
prise which  distinguished  the  early  Spanish  settlers  was  not  dis- 
sipated; and  the  navigation  of  the  Vermejo — supposed  to  offer  a 
communication  between  the  eastern  and  western  borders  of  the 
viceregal  governments  of  Peru  and  La  Plata — became  a  subject 
of  absorbing  interest  to  many  of  the  most  intelligent  of  the  Span- 
ish colonists. 

Senor  Don  Geronimo  Metorras,  Governor  of  Tucuman,  which 
then  embraced  a  large  portion  of  the  territory  now  known  as  the 


244  EARLY  EXPLORATIONS  OF  THE  VERMEJO. 

Argentine  Confederation,  was  the  last  and  most  successful  explor- 
er by  land  in  that  part  of  the  Chaco  through  which  the  Yermejo 
flows.  His  object  was  to  establish,  if  possible,  a  friendly  under- 
standing with  the  numerous  Indians  living  upon  or  frequenting 
its  borders,  from  Salta  to  Corrientes,  and  thence,  by  the  Parana, 
to  open  a  communication  between  the  former  town  and  Buenos 
Ayres, 

In  1774  he  began  this  exploration,  escorted  by  one  hundred 
and  ninety-six  Indians,  under  the  command  of  Don  Francisco 
Gabmo  Arrias,  a  colonel  of  the  army.  He  followed  the  right 
bank  of  the  river  for  two  hundred  and  forty  leagues ;  received  no 
annoyance  from  the  savages,  but  was  induced  by  a  council  of  his 
escort  to  abandon  the  further  prosecution  of  the  enterprise  when 
he  was,  according  to  his  own  estimate,  within  sixty  leagues  of 
Corrientes.  This  success  inspired  him  with  confidence  in  the 
practicability  of  forming  new  reductions,  and  opening  a  safe  pas- 
sage through  the  Chaco  from  east  to  west.  He  died  when  his 
hopes  were  most  buoyant.  His  successor.  Colonel  Arrias — a  man 
of  great  force  of  character,  and  fully  imbued  with  that  spirit  of 
enterprise  which  had  distinguished  his  predecessor — continued 
the  work,  and  the  following  year  formed  two  "reductions"  among 
the  Tobas  and  Macobi  tribes;  one  of  these  at  the  "Lake  of 
Pearls,"  and  the  other  at  Cangaye,  both  in  the  vicinity  of  the 
river.  In  an  incredibly  short  time  several  thousand  Indians  were 
assembled  at  those  places,  under  the  "banner  of  the  cross  and  the 
tuition  of  the  church." 

In  1778  these  successes  were  followed  up  by  two  Franciscan 
friars,  Murillo  and  Lapa,  who,  in  a  canoe,  and  accompanied  by 
only  four  men,  floated  down  the  Vermejo  from  the  junction  of  the 
Senta  to  the  new  reductions.  This  exploration  was  continued  in 
1781  by  Colonel  Arrias,  who,  with  a  large  escort,  in  a  number  of 
canoes,  descended  throughout  the  remainder  of  the  river  to  its 
junction  with  the  Paraguay,  and  thence  to  Corrientes.  Journals 
of  these  expeditions  were  kept,  and  transmitted  to  the  Viceroy  of 
Buenos  Ayres,  who  carefully  buried  them.  It  was  in  vain  that 
Arrias  urged  the  opening  of  this  river  communication  through 
the  Chaco.  His  entreaties  were  disregarded;  but  so  impressed 
was  he  with  its  importance,  that  before  his  death  he  enjoined 
upon  his  son  to  carry  out  the  work  in  which  he  had  so  zealously 
labored. 

These  efforts  were  followed  by  several  others  for  civilizing,  or 


EXPEDITIONS  OF  CORNEJO  AND  SORIA.  245 

rather  subjugating  the  Indians ,  but  no  farthei  attempt  was  made 
to  verify  the  navigability  of  the  Vermejo  until  1790,  when  Colonel 
Adriane  Cornejo,  a  citizen  of  Salta,  accompanied  by  thirty  persons, 
descended  in  a  boat  from  the  junction  of  the  Senta  to  its  mouth,  a 
distance,  according  to  his  own  estimate,  which  is  probably  exag- 
gerated, of  four  hundred  leagues.  The  account  of  this  descent, 
accomplished  in  fifty-live  days,  during  the  months  of  July  and 
August,  is  more  authentic  and  detailed  than  that  of  any  that  pre- 
ceded or  followed.  The  navigation  was  reported  as  practicable 
throughout,  and  the  Indians  as  having  exhibited  no  hostile  spirit. 

No  farther  attempt  was  made  under  the  colonial  government 
to  open  this  river.  The  reductions  upon  its  borders  were  aban- 
doned, though,  as  may  be  well  understood,  the  civilization  of  the 
savages  and  the  addition  of  their  territory  to  the  viceregal  gov- 
ernments were  measures  freighted  with  honor  and  profit  to  Spain. 

In  1826,  and  at  the  season  before  chosen  by  Cornejo — July  and 
August — Don  Pablo  Soria,  the  agent  of  an  association  in  Buenos 
Ayres,  set  out  in  a  boat  fiftj^-two  feet  long  and  of  two  feet  draught. 
He  descended  the  Vermejo  in  fifty-seven  days,  from  Senta  to  its 
junction  with  the  Paraguay,  where  he.  was  entrapped  by  the  sol- 
diers of  the  opposite  guardia.  His  papers  were  taken  from  him, 
and  he  was  sent  a  prisoner  to  Asuncion,  where  he  was  detained 
five  years  by  Francia.  His  journal,  which  had  been  kept  with 
great  care,  was  never  returned  to  him ;  and  the  only  record  known 
of  it  is  a  narrative  and  map,  drawn  from  memory,  five  years  later, 
when  the  commander,  having  been  liberated,  returned  to  Buenos 
Ayres.  He  describes  the  descent  as  having  been  attended  with  no 
obstacles  or  difiiculties  except  such  as  arose  from  the  hostilities  of 
the  Indians. 

Such  had  been  the  expeditions  down  the  Vermejo  when  we 
made  the  attempt  to  ascend  it.  The  accounts  given  of  them, 
tliough  vague  and  unsatisfactory  as  to  the  peculiar  characteristics 
of  the  river,  agreed  somewhat  in  representing  the  current  as  "  muy 
mansd'''  (very  gentle).  Nothing  is  said  as  to  the  means  used  to 
test  its  velocity,  and  it  is  easy  to  understand  the  origin  and  con- 
tinuance of  this  error.  Those  parties  only  floated  down,  and, 
dreading  or  actually  pursued  by  hostile  Indians,  we  can  imagine 
their  anxiety  to  move  a  little  faster.  The  current  was  only  too 
sluggish  for  their  impatience. 

So  soon  as  the  necessary  arrangements  could  be  made,  after  the 
arrival  of  the  Water  Witch  from  Montevideo,  I  went  on  board  the 


246 


THE  STEAMER  PILCOMAYO. 


Pilcomayo,  and  on  the  18tli  May,  1854,  started  for  the  Vermejo, 
accompanied  by  the  following  officers:  Acting  Lieutenant  G.  P. 
Welsh,  Acting  Master  W.  H.  Murdaugh,  Passed  Midshipman  E. 
W.  Henry,  Assistant  Surgeon  Kobert  Carter,  Third  Assistant  En- 
gineer Stump,  and  a  crew  of  eighteen  men. 

The  boat,  built  of  the  cedar  of  Paraguay,  was  sixty -five  feet  in 
length,  fourteen  feet  beam,  twenty-three  inches  draught,  flat  bot- 
tom, depth  of  hold  three  feet,  deck  laid  in  hatches,  sides  of  deck- 
house of  half-inch  cedar  boards  to  the  height  of  five  feet,  and  cov- 
ered with  painted  canvas.     Upon  this  deck  the  officers  and  men 


8TEAMEB  PILOOMATO  AND  PABAGUAY  QITABDIA. 


slept.  A  table,  four  feet  by  two  and  a  half,  on  movable  legs, 
served  on  one  side  as  a  drawing-board,  while  on  the  other  we  took 
our  meals.  The  seats,  which  were  boxes  fourteen  inches  square, 
served  as  lockers  for  clothes.  Two  small  high-pressure  engines 
of  six-inch  cylinders,  eighteen  inches  stroke,  with  two  locomotive 
boilers,  which  proved  worthless,  and  wheels  of  twelve  feet  diame- 
ter, constituted  the  propelling  power.  Such  were  our  equipments. 
.  Judging  from  the  performance  of  the  little  craft,  which  had 
been  tried  several  times  in  the  Paraguay  off  Asuncion,  I  supposed 
she  could  make  five  knots  in  slack  water,  and,  anticipating  a  cur- 
rent "wM?/  manso^''^  we  started  upon  the  work  in  fine  spirts. 

I  instructed  Lieutenant  Powell  to  visit,  in  my  absence,  an  in- 
teresting section  of  Paraguay,  embracing  a  part  of  the  "Yerbales," 
to  observe  the  process  of  gathering  the  leaves  and  preparing  the 


ASCENT  OF  THE  VERMEJO.  247 

yerba,  and  to  note  the  cultivation  and  general  resources  of  that 
quarter  of  the  republic.  He  was  also  directed  to  determine  the 
geographical  positions  of  the  principal  points  in  his  route ;  and,  in 
returning,  to  re-determine  those  in  the  interior,  the  positions  of 
which,  on  account  of  the  accident  to  the  instruments  during  my 
journey,  were  unsatisfactory.  Extracts  from  his  report  will  be 
found  in  the  Appendix. 

The  Water  Witch  remained  at  Asuncion  to  undergo  extensive 
repairs  to  her  engine  and  wheels,  notwithstanding  those  so  recently 
put  upon  her  at  Montevideo. 

With  four  months'  rations  for  twenty-four  persons,  ten  tons  of 
coal,  and  one  and  a  half  cords  of  wood,  we  entered  the  Vermejo, 
May  22d,  1854. 

Expecting  to  find  the  river  and  adjacent  country  teeming  with 
animal  life,  I  thought  I  had  made  unnecessary  provision  for  food, 
but  I  was  mistaken.  What  may  be  the  resources  in  this  respect 
of  the  upper  and  middle  sections  of  the  Vermejo  I  can  not  say, 
but  up  to  the  point  of  our  ascent — one  hundred  and  twenty -two 
miles — there  was  little  game,  and  very  few  fish.  At  one  place 
only — the  mouth  of  a  small  tributary  stream,  which  I  afterward 
named  "Acacia  Eiver" — we  saw  a  great  number  offish. 

The  scarcity  of  game  is  doubtless  owing  to  the  hordes  of  neigh- 
boring savages,  who  subsist  by  the  chase.  Their  skill  with  the 
bow  and  arrow  and  with  the  lance  is  extraordinary,  and  a  vast 
number  of  skins  of  various  animals  are  annually  sold  by  the  more 
civilized  of  them  at  Corrientes. 

The  mouth  of  the  Yermejo  is  marked  by  no  striking  peculiari- 
ties. Its  banks,  are  low,  and  covered  with  a  stunted  scattering 
growlh.  After  advancing  three  or  four  miles,  we  found,  on  either 
side,  an  older  formation,  and  fine  skirts  of  curupayna,  curupay, 
algarroba,  and  espinilla;  while  beyond,  inland,  was  the  pampa, 
with  its  usual  characteristics  in  this  latitude — palms  and  grass. 
For  a  few  miles  the  river  maintains  a  width  of  from  one  to  three 
hundred  yards,  with  a  depth  of  from  twelve  to  eighteen  feet. 
Tortuous,  turbid,  confined  within  narrow  Hmits,  we  soon  discover- 
ed that  the  current,  so  far  from  being  "wwy  manso,^^  was  even  then, 
at  its  near  approach  to  low  water — and  from  the  appearance  of  the 
banks  it  had  little  more  to  fall — not  less  than  three  knots ;  it  would 
doubtless  reach  at  some  places  from  four  to  five.  At  times  we 
found  it  impossible  to  stem  the  current,  or  avoid  being  carried 
down  with  it,  when  working  with  full  steam,  and  a  pressure  of 


248  DIFFICULTIES  AND  DELAYS. 

one  hundred  and  twenty  pounds.  To  keep  out  of  it  was  an  ob- 
ject, and  when  this  was  impossible  we  only  advanced  by  the  aid 
of  a  line  made  fast  to  some  tree  ahead. 

In  addition  to  the  usual  means  for  ascertaining  its  velocity,  it 
was  tested  on  two  occasions  by  selecting  suitable  ground,  meas- 
uring a  base  line  of  four  hundred  feet,  and  noting  the  time  in 
which  a  chip  cast  upon  the  waters  would  pass  from  one  end  of 
the  base  to  the  other.  They  agreed  within  a  very  small  fraction, 
making  the  current  three  sea-miles,  or  from  three  to  four  statute 
miles  an  hour ;  and,  judging  from  the  width,  uniform  depth,  and 
appearance  of  the  river  at  those  two  points,  I  believe  the  current 
was  there  weaker  than  in  many  other  places. 

Perhaps  I  have  been  more  minute  in  dwelling  upon  this  than 
its  importance  at  first  glance  would  seem  to  authorize ;  but  should 
the  Vermejo  become,  as  I  believe  it  very  soon  will,  a  channel  of 
communication  with  the  West,  upon  a  proper  understanding  of 
its  currents  will  depend  the  success  of  the  first  enterprises  for  its 
navigation. 

It  would  weary  the  reader  to  follow  us  step  by  step  through 
the  thirty-two  days  of  perplexing,  toilsome  duty  in  our  fruitless 
attempt  to  ascend  this  river  in  a  boat  with  the  power  of  the  Pil- 
comayo.  I  will  only  give  some  extracts  from  my  journal  for  the 
benefit  of  those  who  may  feel  a  particular  interest  in  the  subject. 
Each  morning  we  resumed  our  labors,  only  to  find  with  the  set- 
ting sun  that  we  had  made  little  or  no  progress. 

"  May  21  ill.  Under  way  at  6  A.M.  Soon  came  to  anchor  to  get 
up  steam;  unable  with  eighty  pounds  to  stem  the  current.  At 
9-|  had  made  two  miles ;  saw  a  few  '  patos  reales.'  Width  of  river 
from  one  to  three  hundred  yards.  On  either  side,  grass  and^mag- 
nificent  lofty  palms.  This  palm  timber  is  in  demand  at  Corrien- 
tes,  and  it  could  easily  be  carried  down  on  rafts.  Made  several 
inefiectual  efforts  to  round  a  bend,  with  eighty  pounds  of  steam. 
Our  little  boat  went,  crab-like,  against  the  banks  by  the  force  of 
the  current,  and  had  five  arms  of  the  starboard  wheel  broken ;  a 
vexatious  accident,  but  one  against  which  the  utmost  precaution 
will  not  guard  us  in  such  navigation  as  this.  Cut  from  an  algar- 
roba  on  the  right  bank  atms  for  the  broken  wheel.  This  wood, 
which  is  as  easily  cut,  split,  and  worked  as  Southern  pine,  is  very 
durable,  and  unequaled,  even  in  its  green  state,  as  fuel  for  steam- 
ers. In  five  hours  the  arms  were  replaced,  and  we  were  again 
under  way. 


,  SLOW  PROGRESS.  249 

"  Ancliored  at  sunset,  and  determined  our  position  by  stars 
nortli  and  south,  east  and  west.  Our  men  have  thus  far  failed  to 
catch  fish  with  the  seine  or  line.  Shot  five  pavos  del  monte — 
mountain  turkeys — a  delicious  bird.  Nothing  could  be  more  ac- 
ceptable, as  our  breakfast  for  some  days  has  been  hominy  and 
coffee,  and  our  dinner  pork  and  beans,  the  last  a  diet  of  which 
even  sailors  tire  when  forced  to  live  upon  it  for  many  days  con- 
secutively. 

"29^/i.  Creeping  along,  we  keep  as  much  as  possible  t)ut  of  the 
current.  Banks  rise  abruptly  twenty-five  feet,  presenting  strata 
of  argillaceous  earth,  estuary  mud,  and  reddish  clay,  with  a  sur- 
face soil  from  one  to  two  feet  in  depth.  Whenever  they  rise  to 
the  same  height,  the  formation  is  very  uniform.  Several  mounted 
Indians  have  presented  themselves  on  the  right  bank.  They 
manifest  a  friendly  disposition,  and  say  they  belong  to  the  Tobas 
tribe.  They  are  fine-looking  men,  without  paint  or  covering  ex- 
cept a  piece  of  cloth  around  the  loins,  and  are  armed  with  bows, 
arrows,  and  lances.  They  subsist  by  the  chase  and  fishing,  and 
hold  some  communication  with  Corrientes,  where  they  dispose  of 
their  skins,  principally  those  of  the  jaguar,  deer,  and  nutria.  We 
gave  them  tobacco,  fish-hooks,  and  a  few  trinkets,  with  which  they 
were  pleased.  But,  much  to  our  astonishment,  the  steamer  seem- 
ed to  awaken  among  them  neither  fear  nor  curiosity. 

"  SOth.  Made  four  and  a  half  miles  this  day,  and  have  been 
compelled  to  stop  four  times  to  get  up  sufficient  steam  to  stem  the 
current.  We  started  with  one  hundred  and  twenty  pounds,  and 
as  soon  as  it  worked  down  to  eighty  we  were  obliged  to  anchor. 
Weather  cloudy,  with  rain  at  intervals. 

"  Slst.  Reached  Nacurutu,  a  small,  thickly-wooded  island,  rising 
thirty  feet  above  the  water.  A  good  channel  on  either  side,  the 
eastern  being  the  deeper.  In  nine  days  our  efforts  to  advance 
have  been  unflagging,  and  yet  we  have  made  but  thirty-five 
miles.  Saw  to-day  a  jaguar  on  the  banks,  but  he  escaped  before 
we  were  within  shooting  distance ;  also  a  few  motus  and  pavos  del 
monte.  We  have  made  two  and  a  half  miles ;  this  is  encourag- 
ing. I  am  disappointed  in  the  scarcity  of  flora,  animals,  and  birds. 
Anchored  for  the  night  near  the  island  in  a  heavy  rain,  accom- 
panied with  thunder  and  lightning." 

During  this  ascent  of  the  Vermejo  it  was  the  habit  of  the  offi- 
cers at  our  stoppages  to  "  get  up  steam"  to  go  on  shore  in  search 
of  specimens.    From  the  aspect  of  the  country  one  might  suppose 


250  PALM  FORESTS. 

it  a  tolerable  field ;  but  we  met  with  poor  success.  "We  saw  only 
a  limited  number  of  the  small  partridge,  moving  always  in  pairs — 
the  habit  also  of  the  larger  species,  of  which  there  were  very  few. 
It  is  probable  that  many  are  annually  destroyed  by  the  habit  the 
Indians  have  of  firing  the  grass,  a  few  months  after  which  the 
pampas  present  the  appearance  of  fine  wheat-fields  in  May. 

'''•June  1.  Weather  misty.  Underway  at  6  A.M.;  at  10  A.M. 
had  stopped  three  times  to  get  up  steam.  Channel  contracted 
somewhat  by  imbedded  drift-wood.  While  at  anchor  I  went 
ashore,  and,  passing  through  the  woods  that  skirted  the  banks, 
found  myself  on  the  borders  of  the  pampa,  with  a  boundless  ex- 
tension of  palms — those  '  kings  among  grasses' — before  me." 

It  was  a  vast  temple  to  the  Living  God,  that  palm  forest,  with 
its  long  aisles  and  noble  colonnades;  its  symmetrical  columnar 
trunks  rising  to  the  height  of  more  than  seventy  feet,  with  their 
feathery-foliaged  capitals.  The  plain  from  which  they  sprung 
was  unbroken  by  the  smallest  inequality  except  the  conical 
structures  of  the  ant,  rising  some  three  or  four  feet  in  every  di- 
rection above  the  grass.  Though  this  fair  region  has  a  varied 
zoology,  and  is  the  domain  of  fierce  unsubjugated  nomads,  scarce 
the  buzz  of  an  insect  was  heard;  not  a  form  of  animated  life 
crossed  my  path.  Yet  the  whole  aspect  of  nature  was  indescrib- 
ably cheerful.  There  were  pleasant  illusions,  too,  of  picturesque 
villages ;  for,  as  we  turned  from  the  palms  and  followed  the 
course  of  the  river,  marked  by  its  wooded  belt,  in  the  varying 
height  of  branching  trees  we  descried  houses,  pointed  roofs,  and 
miradores,  so  sharply  defined  that  it  was  impossible  to  believe 
them  unreal.  What  a  crowning  glory  the  palm  forests  offer  to 
the  vegetable  system  of  this  basin  of  La  Plata !  The  varieties  seen 
by  us  in  the  last  few  months  would  furnish  supplies  of  nourishing 
farinaceous  food,  drink,  medicine,  arms,  lodging,  and  clothing,  to 
a  vast  population.  We  have  seen  them,  not  in  patches,  or  groves, 
or  park-like  groupings,  but  in  vast  forests,  extending  many  miles 
upon  the  rivers,  and  inland  far  beyond  the  reach  of  the  eye. 

"  In  this  Vermejo  pampa,  though  the  palms  are  extraordinary 
in  size  and  beauty,  the  variety  in  the  species  is  appparently 
limited;  but,  owing  to  varied  professional  duties,  my  investiga- 
tions into  all  subjects  pertaining  to  natural  history  are  at  best 
superficial;  and  so  teeming  is  the  wealth  of  unexplored  nature  in 
La  Plata  that  each  department  would  furnish  a  study  for  years, 
or  for  a  long  life. 


PATIENCE  AND  TO-MORROW.  253 

"  The  position  of  the  Rio  Saco,  as  given  on  Descalzi's  map, 
near  the  Island  Nacamtu,  is  erroneous.  There  is  no  trace  what- 
ever of  a  river  at  that  place.  Sixteen  miles  above  there  is  the 
dry  bed  of  a  very  small  stream,  which,  during  the  seasons  of  rain, 
may  be  a  river,  or  have  the  appearance  of  one,  for  the  waters  of 
the  Vermejo  would  back  into  it. 

"  Jwjie  4:th.  Had  a  talk  with  a  group  of  Indians — ^men,  women, 
and  children.  In  stature  and  form  the  women  are  inferior  to  the 
men,  and  are  much  disfigured  by  tattooing,  which  is  their  prepara- 
tion for  marriage.  Some  of  the  men  sported  old  cloth  jackets, 
picked  up  probably  in  their  trade  with  Corrientes,  but  the  women 
and  children  were  entirely  naked  except  a  piece  of  cloth  about 
the  middle.  They  had  a  few  sheep,  which  they  drive  from  place 
to  place  as  they  move  their  toldos. 

"  10  A.M.  Anchored,  with  forty -five  pounds  of  steam,  unable 
to  stem  the  current ;  though  not  exposed  to  its  strength,  we  had 
worked  down  from  one  hundred  and  twenty  pounds.  Again  un- 
der way  at  11  5  A.M.,  with  one  hundred  and  twenty  pounds  of 
steam.  Worked  down  to  forty-five;  throttle  closed  as  much  as 
possible.  •  At  1  50,  under  way ;  in  twenty  minutes  at  anchor  for 
want  of  steam.  How  can  headway  be  made  at  this  rate  ?  Re- 
mained at  anchor  one  hour  and  a  half;  moved  twenty  minutes, 
making  each  time  from  two  to  four  hundred  yards,  and  now  and 
then  dashing  into  the  bank,  when  off  would  fly  from  two  to  four 
arms  of  the  wheels.  Hoping  for  better,  times,  we  will  not  give  it 
up  yet.     '  Paciencia  y  raananaJ^ 

"  June  6th.  Stopped  to  communicate  with  a  number  of  Tobas 
Indians,  who  appeared  on  the  banks,  mounted  on  fine  horses." 
The  cacique  "  de  Soi  Carui"  seemed  to  be  regarded  with  profound 
respect  by  the  whole  party.  He  was  dressed  in  a  blue  jacket, 
scarlet  trowsers,  and  red  conical  cloth  cap,  measuring  about 
eighteen  inches  in  height,  and  having  on  its  front  a  brass  plate, 
with  the  motto  of  Rosas,  "  Murien  los  salvages  Unitarios  r  (Death 
to  the  savage  Unitarians !)  I  sent  a  boat  for  him,  and  with  a  few 
attendants  he  came  on  board.  "  The  Tobas  live  in  toldos,  which 
they  move  at  pleasure ;  for  they  possess  neither  cattle  nor  sheep, 
and  subsist  by  the  chase  and  fishing.  They  mentioned  a  tribe  of 
Indians  some  distance  west,  rarely  seen  by  the  white  man,  who 
have  the  hair  and  color  of  the  negro."f 

*  "  Patience  and  to-morrow  !" — the  Spanish  cure  for  all  ills  of  disappointment. 
+  At  Asuncion  I  was  informed  that  there  existed  in  the  northeastern  part  of 
Paraguay  a  tribe  of  caudated  savages. 


254  INDIANS. 

"While  wooding,  I  pulled  ahead  a  short  distance  in  the  boat. 
The  river  is  very  tortuous,  and  seems  to  have  undergone  great 
changes.  At  one  place  it  had  formerly  coursed  in  a  semicircle, 
cutting  into  the  left  bank,  while  a  point  of  land  from  the  opposite 
side  projected  a  considerable  distance  into  this  semicircular  bend, 
at  right  angles  to  the  course  of  the  stream  above.  The  action 
of  the  current  had  severed  this  neck  from  the  main  land,  and, 
leaving  the  curve  for  the  more  direct  course,  had  formed  shoals 
at  each  end,  which,  with  accumulated  deposits,  had  in  time  joined 
the  island  to  the  opposite  main  land,  and  made  one  unbroken 
bank,  leaving  in  the  abandoned  bed  of  the  river  a  crescent-shaped 
lake  of  clear  water.* 

I  landed  near  two  Indians,  who  were  fishing.  They  manifest- 
ed no  alarm,  and  gave  me  some  nutria  skins,  which  they  called 
chiquisi.  I  offered  them  in  return  a  few  cigars,  the  only  thing  I 
had  with  me.  The  formation  of  the  banks  and  the  face  of  the 
country  are  unvarying,  so  far.  From  time  to  time  bodies  of 
mounted  Indians,  or  small  groups  engaged  in  fishing,  are  seen. 

The  zoology  of  this'pampa  differs  very  little  from  that  of  the 
shores  of  the  Paraguay.  We  have  seen  the  jaguar,  capibara, 
deer,  nutria,  and  in  a  few  instances  the  tracks  of  the  tapir.  The 
noise  of  our  high-pressure  engine  may  have  driven  some  animals 
into  the  interior,  but  I  think  the  scarcity  may  be  ascribed  to  the 
skill  and  activity  of  the  Indian  hunters,  and  the  trafiic  in  skins 
carried  on  with  Corrientes.  The  algarroba  and  espinilla  are 
abundant  upon  the  banks,  but  the  flora — principally  creepers — 
offers  no  new  species. 

"  l^th.  Another  party  of  mounted  Indians  were  seen  on  the 
right  bank.  They  resemble  physically  those  before  seen,  and  are 
indeed  of  the  same  tribe.  Eeceived  an  invitation  to  visit  their 
toldo,  distant  some  miles  from  the  river.  Three  officers  and  five 
men  accompanied  me,  and  after  a  tramp  through  the  long  grass 
we  reached  their  habitations,  a  collection  of  hide  and  grass  sheds, 
closed  only  upon  the  south  side.  In  this  toldo  were  five  men, 
as  many  women,  and  ten  children.  The  women  were  prepar- 
ing the  seed  of  the  caraguatay,  an  important  item  of  food  with 
them.  It  resembles  parched  corn,  and  is  not  a  bad  substitute 
when  roasted.     They  gave  us  fruit  of  the  algarroba  and  guayca- 

*  Lyell's  description  of  the  curves  of  the  Mississippi — "Principles  of  Geology," 
p.  212 — could  not  illustrate  more  truly  the  above  and  similar  changes  in  the  Ver- 
mejo  had  it  been  designed  for  them.        ^ 


INDIAN  MANUFACTURES.  255 

rurembaj^u,  as  it  is  called  in  Guarami,  but  these  savages  call  it 
loquerai.  They  reduce  the  first  to  a  fibrous  powder,  and  find  it 
so  nutritious  that  it  will  alone  sustain  them  on  a  march  of  many 
days.  Mixed  with  the  meal  of  parched  corn  it  makes  an  excel- 
lent article  of  food,  which  is  much  used  in  the  province  of  Santia- 
go. These  Indians  had  a  few  sheep  and  chickens ;  but  they  pre- 
fer horse-flesh  to  beef,  and  mules  to  either.  A  quantity  of  the 
former,  cut  in  long  thin  slips,  was  hung  up  to  dry.  We  gave 
them  hatchets,  knives,  and  a  few  yards  of  cotton  cloth,  in  ex- 
change for  two  sheep  and  some  chickens.  The  former,  in  size 
and  quality,  were  fully  equal  to  any  I  had  seen  in  Buenos  Ayres 
or  Entre  Eios. 

"  All  the  women  wore  about  the  middle  a  piece  of  woolen  cloth, 
blue,  white,  and  red.  The  yarn  is  spun  with  the  distaff,  and  very 
well  done.  It  is  woven  by  fastening  the  warp  at  each  end  to  a 
stick,  and  confining  it  horizontally  by  four  others  driven  into  the 
ground.  The  woof  is  passed  between  the  threads  by  a  shuttle  of 
the  rudest  contrivance,  and  driven  into  its  place  by  the  blows  of  a 
flat  board.  Such  is  their  primitive  mode  of  making  what  appear- 
ed a  coarse  but  durable  article.  The  colors  were  particularly 
bright. 

"  One  mile  above  this  the  banks  rise  twenty-five  feet,  showing 
a  deep  stratum  of  ferruginous  clay,  and  a  sandy  loam. 

"A  nest,  built  eight  feet  below  the  surface,  and  exposed  by  the 
caving  in  of  the  bank,  gave  us  a  curious  evidence  of  the  instinct 
and  intelligence  of  the  bee.  A  little  beyond  this  I  saw  a  vein  of 
small  fresh-water  fossil  shells,  Planorbis,  in  a  stratum  of  sandy 
mould,  and  on  the  opposite  bank,  imbedded  horizontally,  and 
projecting  fifteen  feet,  was  the  trunk  of  a  large  tree  twenty  inches 
in  diameter,  hollow,  and  much  worn  on  the  outer  side,  leaving  a 
shell  five  inches  thick.  It  lay  about  twenty  feet  from  the  sur- 
face, and  seventeen  above  the  level  of  the  river,  in  a  stratum  of 
sandy  clay.  It  was  so  hard  that  for  some  time  it  resisted  the  axe. 
Again  saw  three  other  imbedded  trees ;  the  first  lying  horizon- 
tally in  dark  argillaceous  earth,  five  feet  from  the  surface;  the 
second  standing  vertically;  and  the  third  twenty  feet  under 
ground,  lying  horizontally,  the  roots  projecting  from  the  banks. 

"  19th.  Came  to  a  pass,  a  narrow  rocky  reef,  tosca^  extending 
across  the  river,  having  on  it  a  depth  of  three  feet,  with  deep  wa- 
ter immediately  above  and  below. 

"This,  I  presume,  is  the  'Paso  da  Lurbi'  of'Descalzi's  map. 


256  INDIAN  FISHERY. 

for  it  approaches  more  nearly  to  his  description  of  it  than  any 
thing  I  have  seen,  although  it  does  not  correspond  in  position, 
which  is,  according  to  our  determination,  in  latitude  26°  12'  south, 
longitude  59°  38'  west;  variation  10°  52'  east.  Many  physical 
changes  have  doubtless  taken  place  since  Soria's  descent  of  the 
Vermejo  in  1826. 

"  23d.  While  wooding  the  vessel  I  pulled  ahead  and  saw  two 
Indians  fishing ;  they  were  alarmed,  and  moved  off  when  they  saw 
us ;  but  I  reassured  them  by  calling  out  '  Amigo  P  They  stopped, 
and  as  we  approached  one  of  them  said  piteously,  '  Mi  amigo^  mi 
Tnalo.""^  I  administered  a  few  cigars,  which  had  an  instantaneous 
and  salutary  effect  upon  the  frame  and  nerves  of  the  poor  savage, 
who,  in  return,  insisted  upon  my  acceptance  of  two  large  cat-fish. 
In  their  trade  with  Corrientes  some  have  picked  up  a  few  words 
of  Spanish,  and  '  amigd  would  probably  be  found,  on  all  occa- 
sions, a  safe  pass- word  with  them. 

"  They  exhibit  both  skill  and  ingenuity  in  their  modes  of  fish- 
ing. A  wattling  breakwater  is  extended  from  the  shore  for  about 
six  feet,  at  a  right  angle  to  the  current,  forming  a  small  space  of 
slack  water  below  it.  Here  the  fish  resort  to  avoid  the  current, 
and  are  caught  by  the  well-baited  hooks  of  the  Indians.  Again, 
they  shoot  them  with  the  bow  and  arrow,  and  generally  with  un- 
erring aim. 

"  May  24:th.  Latitude  26°  10'  09"  south,  longitude  59°  39'  08" 
west.  We  have  ascended  the  river  by  its  course  one  hundred  and 
twenty -two  geographical  miles;  the  aggregate  distance,  by  the 
various  points  of  observation,  of  which  there  were  nine,  being 
eightjr -three,  and  in  a  right  line  seventy-six.  Having  persevered 
for  thirty-two  days,  at  an  average  of  less  than  four  miles  per  day, 
and  not  made  more  than  one  tenth  of  the  distance  I  anticipated 
in  this  time,  I  have  determined  to  return,  make  some  changes  in 
the  boat,  and  additions  to  the  steam  space  of  the  boilers ;  their 
defects  being  the  cause  of  all  this  toil  and  disappointment.  The 
failure  of  the  attempt,  and  the  experience  gained,  only  give  me 
confidence  in  the  practicability  of  ascending  this  river  with  a 
steamer  of  suitable  construction  and  ordinary  power. 

"  Though  there  may  be  sections  of  the  Vermejo  where  the  wa- 
ters on  either  side  expand  into  lagoons,  wherever  confined  by 
high  banks,  the  current  is  rapid,  and  those  expecting  to  navigate 
this  river  must  not  be  deceived  by  the  '  77iiiy  mansd'  of  Spanish 

*  I  am  a  friend,  I  am  sick  ! 


THE  VERMEJO.  257 

Americans,  an  expression  they  use  lightly  on  all  occasions.  Our 
dear-bought  experience  in  thirty  days'  work  is  sufficient  proof  of 
the  difficulties  of  the  navigation.  Nor  is  it  probable  that  they 
decrease  in  advancing;  for  it  can  flow  through  no  country  pre- 
senting a  more  unbroken  level  than  this. 

"  Our  examination  shows  a  current  from  3  to  8f  sea  miles  the 
hour,  or  from  8^  to  4^  statute  miles,  and  at  some  points  an  in- 
crease upon  this :  a  force  to  meet  which  the  defective  machinery 
of  our  little  boat  is  not  equal. 

"We  have  advanced  some  distance  above  the  '  passes'  (the  '  Paso 
de  Lurbi'  and  '  Salta  de  Iso')  mentioned  by  Soria,  as  offering  the 
principal  and  only  obstacles  to  the  navigation  at  low  water.  The 
river  has  ceased  falling,  and  I  can  discover  no  trace  of  the  latter 
point,  and  but  a  faint  correspondence  with  his  description  of  the 
Paso  de  Lurbi,  which  may  be  accounted  for  by  the  great  physical 
changes  constantly  going  on." 

The  least  depth  in  the  channel  was  three  feet;  and  the  esti- 
mated rise,  judging  from  unmistakable  marks  on  banks  and 
trees,  was  ten.  The  season  of  least  water  is  July  and  August, 
which  continues  until  the  rains  of  November  in  the  region  of  its 
source  and  those  of  its  tributaries.  I  have  before  mentioned  that  it 
was  impossible  to  obtain  any  data  relative  to  the  Yermejo,  therefore 
its  periodical  changes  beyond  what  I  actually  observed  are  un- 
known to  me ;  and  to  repeat  what  has  been  given  at  various  times 
as  positive  and  reliable  information  would  mislead  others  as  it  did 
me.  The  physical  changes  to  which  I  have  alluded,  as  occurring 
within  a  few  years  in  the  Parana,  will  explain  those  of  the  Ver- 
mejo  in  a  quarter  of  a  century.  The  simple  fact  of  its  having  wa- 
ter at  all  seasons  for  vessels  of  two  and  a  half  feet  draus^ht,  must 
set  at  rest  any  anxiety  about  its  rise  and  fall,  inasmuch  as  few 
would  care  to  navigate  it  with  a  greater  draught  were  its  depth 
twenty  feet  throughout.  The  advantage  gained  at  high  water 
would  be  a  slight  increased  width  of  the  channel,  which  would, 
however,  be  counteracted  by  the  increased  velocity  of  current ;  at 
other  seasons  obstructions,  such  as  trees  fallen  or  imbedded  in  the 
bottom,  would  be  exposed  to  view. 

We  made  our  mark  at  the  point  of  return  by  felling  a  noble 
algarroba,  measuring  three  feet  through  the  stump,  from  which 
the  little  Pilcomayo  was  loaded  with  fuel  to  her  utmost  capacity, 
leaving  a  good  supply  for  the  next  party  of  explorers,  and  hoping 
it  would  be  our  own. 

17 


258  DESCENT  OF  THE  VERMEJO. 

On  the  25tli  we  commenced  the  descent,  and  four  miles  below 
anchored  to  examine  a  small  tributary  stream  from  the  left,  to 
which  I  have  before  alluded.  Accompanied  by  some  of  the  offi- 
cers, I  followed  the  bank  on  foot,  while  Lieutenant  Henry,  with 
two  men  in  the  dingie,  entered  its  mouth.  The  current  was  there 
strong,  and  a  hundred  yards  beyond,  a  fall  of  about  three  feet  pre- 
sented itself,  with  rapids  extending  a  hundred  yards — a  foot  for 
every  ten.  One  of  the  boys  in  the  boat,  hearing  the  noise,  turned 
to  Mr.  Henry,  and  said  laughingly,  "  That  looks,  sir,  as  if  it  would 
stop  us."  "It  will  take  more  than  that  to  stoj?  us,"  replied  the 
officer,  and  over  the  stern  he  sprang,  in  mud  and  water  to  the 
waist.  The  men  followed  his  example,  and,  by  great  exertion,  they 
drew  the  boat  up  the  little  cascade  and  through  the  rapids  into 
the  comparatively  still  water  beyond.  Mr.  Henry  again  took  the 
tiller,  the  boys  the  oars,  and  they  continued  the  ascent  for  a  mile 
or  two.  The  sluggish  current  above  the  rapids,  and  the  general 
appearance  of  this  stream  induced  the  belief  that  it  had  its  source 
in  some  neighboring  lagoon;  that  it  was,  in  fact,  the  river  de- 
scribed by  Cornejo  as  flowing  from  a  lake  five  miles  from  the  Ver- 
mejo.     The  water  was  limpid  and  sweet. 

We  determined  to  return  in  the  boat,  thinking  the  pleasurable 
sensation  of  gliding  down  the  cascade  would  be  worth  a  capsize. 
On  both  banks  were  large  acacia  trees  in  full  blossom,  their 
branches  in  many  places  meeting  and  forming  a  bower  over  the 
water.  The  whole  atmosphere  was  filled  with  their  delicious 
perfume.  It  was,  in  truth,  a  scene  of  rich  beauty.  Gliding  be- 
yond this  lovely  avenue,  with  Mr.  Henry,  oar  in  hand,  in  the 
stern,  and  one  of  the  boys  in  the  bow,  we  dashed  into  the  rapids. 
The  little  craft  went  like  a  shot,  "straight  on  end,"  and  in  an  in- 
stant we  were  pitching  at  an  angle  of  forty -five  degrees  down  the 
cascade.  The  boat  seemed  to  be  turning  "end  for  end."  Her 
bows  went  under,  but  in  another  moment  she  glided  gracefully 
into  the  current  beyond,  and  we  quickly  passed  into  the  Vermejo, 
through  numberless  fish,  among  which  were  the  golden  dorado, 
leaping  and  dashing  about  as  if  defying  the  skill  of  our  men,  who 
were  in  vain  trying  to  bait  a  mess.  They  were  dainty,  sensible 
dorados,  wisely  preferring  the  delicate  provision  brought  down 
from  Acacia  Eiver,  as  I  shall  call  this  stream,  to  the  "  salt  grub" 
of  the  Pilcomayo.  After  some  hours  of  angling,  a  few  cat-fish 
alone  rewarded  our  patience  by  taking  to  the  pork  baits. 

The  next  day  we  made  little  progress,     A  short  time  after  get- 


LOST  ON  THE  PAMPA.  259 

ting  under  way,  the  boat  became  unmanageable  and  was  carried 
by  the  force  of  the  current  against  a  snag,  from  which  she  was 
with  difficulty  extricated.  After  getting  off,  it  was  too  late  to 
fire  up,  and  I  determined  to  pass  the  hour  before  sunset  on  shore 
with  my  gun. 

Dr.  Carter  and  myself  started  off,  marking  the  point  of  our  de- 
parture from  the  bank  opposite  the  -boat  by  what  we  considered 
easily  recognizable  objects ;  but  in  the  sameness  of  the  woods 
skirting  the  river,  not  found  again  so  readily  as  one  might  sup- 
pose. After  walking  some  distance,  occasionally  turning  to  mark 
the  starting-point — a  clump  of  lofty  trees — our  attention  was  at- 
tracted by  a  vast  number  of  birds  very  like  plover,  and  apparent- 
ly confining  their  movements  to  a  low  marshy  piece  of  ground 
some  distance  before  us.  We  forgot  starting-point  and  courses 
in  the  pleasurable  excitement  offered  by  this  shooting-ground. 
It  was  a  wild-goose  chase.  The  birds,  like  the  fish  of  Acacia 
Kiver,  were  too  wary  for  us.  At  last  we  looked  back  for  the 
clump  of  trees.  It  was  undistinguishable,  and  there  was  not  the 
smallest  object  to  indicate  our  position  or  that  of  the  boat.  By 
our  own  estimate  we  were  one  or  two  miles  from  the  river,  with 
grass  two  feet  high  to  tramp  through,  the  shades  of  night  upon 
us,  and  the  comforting  thought  of  savages  and  wild  beasts  for 
neighbors. 

When  we  reached  the  Yermejo  it  was  night,  and  no  Pilcomayo 
was  in  sight.  We  hailed.  The  sound  ran  along  the  river,  and 
Echo  answered  from  the  opposite  bank.  A  second  time  we 
shouted,  with  the  same  response.  The  doctor  and  myself  differed 
in  opinion  as  to  the  position  of  the  boat.  Now  following  the  bank 
for  about  half  a  mile,  pitching  occasionally  over  ant-hills  three 
or  four  feet  in  height,  with  which  the  pampa  was  covered,  we 
arrived  at  what  the  doctor  had  considered  the  point  of  our  depart- 
ure, but  no  Pilcomayo  was  there.  We  shouted  and  fired  our  guns. 
Again  that  provoking  Echo  responded.  Jaguars  and  Indians 
were  the  only  enemies  we  feared,  but  they  were  formidable  ones, 
and  might  be  lurking  in  the  luxuriant  grass ;  and  it  was  ques- 
tionable whether  the  report  of  our  guns  would  invite  or  deter  the 
approach  of  these  inhabitants  of  the  Chaco.  I  must  confess  that 
the  prospect  of  being,  within  the  next  hour,  the  supper  of  one  or 
prisoner  of  the  other  was  by  no  means  a  comforting  reflection. 
The  doctor  proposed  that  we  should  spend  the  night  among  the 
branches  of  the  algarroba ;  but  not  caring  to  be  treed  like  a  coon, 


260  RETURN  TO  ASUNCION. 

I  preferred  a  running  figbt,  and  kept  to  tlie  banks.  We  retraced 
our  steps,  passed  "  my  point,"  meeting  with  no  incident  more 
alarming  or  noteworthy  than  an  occasional  tumble  over  the  ant- 
hills. Again  we  fired.  Hark !  the  one  "howitzer  of  the  little 
steamer  replied,  fainter  and  more  distant  than  we  could  have  im- 
agined possible,  but  it  was  cheering.  The  doctor  thought  his 
eyesight  better  than  mine,  ^nd  proposed  to  lead,  while  I  was  to 
keep  him  in  line  by  a  star  I  had  taken  as  the  direction  of  the  re- 
port. The  pilot  proved  an  indifferent  one,  for  he  suddenly  disap- 
peared, and  a  pair  of  heels  above  the  sea  of  grass  showed  that  he 
had  pitched  over  an  ant-hill.  I  again  became  the  guide,  and  an- 
other gun  from  the  boat  assured  me  that  we  were  in  the  right  di- 
rection. We  came  to  a  bend  in  the  river.  The  bank  was  high, 
and  densely  covered  with  lofty  trees.  Turning  it,  we  saw  the 
light  of  the  Pilcomayo,  and  hailed  her. 

Officers  and  crew  were  anxious  for  our  safety,  and  a  detach- 
ment was  about  starting  off  in  search.  They  had  burned  blue 
lights  and  fired  small-arms  repeatedly ;  but  the  height  of  the 
banks  and  the  skirting  of  wood  had  hidden  the  first  and  deadened 
the  sound.  We  had  a  hearty  laugh  over  our  adventures,  and 
joked  the  doctor  unmercifully  for  his  "  tree  proposition."  He 
had  been  a  great  coon  hunter  down  in  Old  Yirgkiia,  had  a  vivid 
recollection  of  the  difficulties  of  the  siege,  and  thought  that  from 
such  a  leafy  fort  as  an  algarroba  a  garrison  of  two  men  might  bid 
defiance  to  the  jaguar  and  Indian  of  the  Chaco. 

At  an  early  hour  the  next  morning  we  were  moving  down 
stream,  and  in  the  afternoon  of  the  following  day  again  entered 
the  Paraguay.  In  twenty  and  a  half  working  hours  we  had  de- 
scended the  distance  it  had  taken  thirty-two  days  to  ascend,  and, 
stopping  only  at  three  points  to  wood,  we  arrived  on  the  5th  of 
July  at  Asuncion. 

I  had  not  been  unmindful  of  the  4th.  One  bottle  of  cheer  had 
been  kept  for  the  occasion.  It  was  passed  round,  and  "Jack," 
with  patriotic  promptitude,  responded  to  the  call  of  "  All  hands 
splice  the  main  brace." 

We  made  the  run  from  the  mouth  of  the  Vermejo  to  Asuncion 
in  ninety-one  running  hours  against  a  current,  ascertained  to  be 
from  two  to  two  and  a  half  sea  miles  an  hour.  In  both  rivers  we 
had  kept  out  of  the  currents  as  much  as  possible,  but  working  by 
night  the  boat  was  doubtless  contending  with  that  of  the  Para- 
guay the  greater  part  of  the  time.     This  was  conclusive  evidence 


MR.  HICKMAN'S  EXPEDITION.  261 

that  the  Pilcomayo,  bad  as  she  was,  had  made  from  four  to  four 
and  a  half  sea  miles  an  hour ;  and  yet  in  the  Vermejo  we  could 
make  no  headway  with  the  greatest  pressure  of  steam.  I  may 
then  justly  conclude  that  those  who  navigate  it  must  encoun- 
ter a  current  of  four  sea  miles  an  hour  in  those  parts  confined  be- 
tween banks,  and  this,  too,  at  low  water. 

About  the  time  of  our  ascent  of  that  river,  some  American  and 
English  merchants  of  Buenos  Ayres  entered  into  a  commercial 
enterprise.  They  intrusted  the  execution  of  some  preliminary  ar- 
rangements to  Mr.  Hickman,  a  citizen  of  the  United  States,  par- 
ticularly enthusiastic  and  energetic  in  all  transactions  relating  to 
trade.  Their  object  was  to  open  intercourse  with  the  northwestern 
provinces  of  the  Argentine  States  and  Bolivia  by  the  navigation 
of  the  Vermejo.  Accompanied  by  four  men  Mr.  Hickman  set  out 
by  land,  hoping  to  meet  us  at  the  town  of  Oran,  and  expecting 
from  my  party  facilities  and  aids  which  would  certainly  have  been 
rendered. 

His  purpose  was  to  inform  hiniself  of  the  resources  of  the  coun- 
try accessible  by  this  river ;  to  construct  a  small  boat,  load  it  with 
samples  of  such  articles  as  might  enter  into  immediate  trade,  float 
down  the  river  to  Corrientes,  and  thence  descend  to  Buenos  Ayres. 
He  reached  Oram,  built  his  boat  eighty  feet  in  length,  sixteen  feet 
beam,  and  five  feet  depth ;  loaded  her  with  hides,  wool,  chinchilla 
skins,  specimens  of  copper  and  lead  ores,  and  left  Oran  on  the  12th 
of  March,  1855.  The  current  dashed  the  boat  against  the  bank 
near  the  point  called  Lima  Muerta,  about  twenty -five  leagues  be- 
low, where  he  was  detained  until  the  4th  of  April  to  repair  damages. 
He^  died  on  the  6th  of  May,  and  was  buried  near  the  old  "  reduc- 
tion" of  San  Bernard.  The  boat  arrived  safely  at  Corrientes  on 
the  2'ith  of  the  same  month.  According  to  a  journal  kept  on 
board,  she  was  under  way  two  hundred  and  fifty  hours,  and  float- 
ed a  distance  of  three  hundred  and  fifty  leagues.  This  would 
make  the  current  four  miles  an  hour.  The  most  intelligent  men 
of  this  party  were  of  the  opinion  that  steamers  of  three  feet  draught 
could  ascend  within  twenty  miles  of  Oran  at  any  season  of  the 
year.  Having  to  cut  lumber  from  the  woods,  they  were  ten 
months  engaged  in  the  construction  of  this  boat  and  in  prepara- 
tions for  leaving  Oran. 

By  Mr.  Hickman's  death  the  projectors  of  the  enterprise  proba- 
bly lost  much  valuable  information  that  would  have  hastened  the 
development  of  trade  in  that  direction.    But  the  time  is  only  post- 


262  ME.  DANA'S  DISPATCH. 

poned  when  steamers  will  enter  Corrientes,  Rosario,  and  Buenos 
Ajres,  freighted  with  the  products  of  the  North  and  West,  a  ton 
for  every  ounce  that  now  finds  its  way  into  those  markets  for  for- 
eign shipment.  To  effect  this,  however,  one  thing  is  essential : 
the  free  and  uninterrupted  navigation  of  the  river ;  that  is,  free- 
dom from  obstacles  and  annoyances  arising  from  the  territorial 
differences  of  neighboring  nations.  As  to  the  Indians,  they  may 
become  valuable  aids  in  opening  this  new  avenue  of  trade. 

To  show  the  resources  of  the  country  accessible  by  the  Verme- 
jo,  and  the  immediate  trade  it  offers,  I  quote  from  an  interesting 
dispatch  of  Mr.  J.  W.  Dana,  our  minister  to  Bolivia,  addressed  to 
the  State  Department. 

"  The  whole  region  of  country  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Vermejo,  both  in  Bo- 
livia and  the  Argentine  States,  including  the  cities  above  named  (Oran,  Ju- 
juy,  and  Salta),  abounds  in  horses,  cattle,  and  sheep,  and  produces  cotton, 
sugar-cane,  tobacco,  rice,  cocoa ;  and  at  points  a  little  more  distant  the  al- 
paca is  found  in  great  numbers.  The  Rio  Grande,  a  branch  of  the  Verme- 
jo, which  enters  it  a  little  below  Oran,  is  navigable  to  a  point  forty  leagues 
distant  from  each  of  the  cities  Jujuy  and  Salta 

"  Estimates  by  the  leading  merchants  in  various  parts  of  the  country, 
which  I  have  heretofore  obtained,  compared,  and  corrected,  one  by  another, 
indicate  the  sum  of  $5,000,000  as  an  approximation  to  4\ie  amount  of  im- 
ports. These  may  be  reclassed  as  follows :  Ii"on  and  steel,  all  that  is  used 
in  the  country  for  mining  and  other  purposes ;  large  quantities  of  brandy, 
wine,  and  ale ;  all  the  table-service,  cutlery,  etc. ;  nearly  all  the  good  fur- 
niture, pianos,  for  which  there  is  a  very  great  demand  ;  carpetings  and  pa- 
per-hangings ;  jewelry,  watches,  etc. ;  a  large  quantity  of  our  coarse  brown 
and  blue  cotton  for  outer  clothing  in  warm  climates ;  a  large  quantity  of 
thick  heavy  baize,  from  England,  which  is  universally  used  for  the  Indians 
and  lower  classes  in  the  high  cold  regions ;  silks,  broad-cloths,  and  all  the 
various  materials  for  male  and  female  dress  used  in  Europe  and  the  United 
States.  Hats,  boots,  and  shoes  are  imported  to  some  extent,  but  they  are 
manufactured  here,  though  badly,  and  at  very  high  prices.  In  fact,  all  the 
necessaries  and  luxuries  of  a  civilized  society  are  brought  from  abroad,  ex- 
cept the  productions  of  the  soil 

"  The  exports  of  the  country,  a  series  of  years  considered,  must  of  course 
be  regarded  as  at  least  equal  to  the  imports.  These  consist  of  copper,  tin, 
silver  coined,  gold  coined,  cascarilla  and  Peruvian  bark ;  to  which  may  be 
added  a  small  quantity  of  wool.  Copper  mines  are  abundant  throughout 
Bolivia,  including  the  region  that  would  conveniently  centre  at  Sucre  ;  but, 
on  account  of  the  great  cost  of  transportation,  none  are  worked  except  those 
nearest  the  coast.     They  are  so  productive,  however,  that  it  is  a  very  prof- 


FARTHER  EXPLORATIONS.  263 

itable  business  when  the  transportation  does  not  exceed  seventy-five 
leagues.  The  same  cause,  distance  and  transportation,  operates  upon  the 
mines  of  tin.  When  tin  is  high,  they  are  worked  to  a  considerable  extent ; 
when  it  is  low,  the  works  are  in  a  great  measm-e  suspended.  Those  which 
are  now  worked  are  chiefly  situated  in  the  vicinity  of  Oran,  between  that 
and  Sucre.  The  most  productive  silver  mines  are  also  in  the  region  of 
Sucre,  or  properly  of  Potosi.  One  establishment  near  there  produced 
$360,000  in  the  year  1856.  But  the  cost  of  machinery,  brought  from 
abroad  over  the  Andes  on  mules,  is  so  immense  that  most  of  the  mines  are 
worked  in  the  most  primitive  manner  ;  and,  consequently,  only  those  which 
are  very  rich  afford  a  remunerative  business.  As  an  illustration  I  will 
state  that  a  company  that  has  recently  introduced  European  machinery  is 
now  working  over  a  second  time  the  substance  from  which  the  silver  had 
been  previously  extracted,  and  doing  so  at  great  profit.  If  facilities  were 
afforded  for  the  introduction  of  miproved  machinery,  I  have  no  doubt  that 
it  would  immensely  increase  the  production." 


CHAPTER  XV. 


Visit  to  the  President. — Boat-cruise  up  the  Riachuelo. — Victoria  Regia  or  Mais 
del  Agua. — Orange  Groves. — The  Plow. — Posta  Contaro. — San  Cosmi. — Ytati. 
— Hacienda  Yrisbugua. — Race  with  an  Ostrich. — Breaking  a  Horse. — Troubles 
at  Asuncion. — Visit  to  the  President. — Consultation  with  Mr.  Hopkins. — Return 
to  the  Government-house. — Last  Interview  with  his  Excellency. — The  Permit. 
— Correspondence  with  Mr.  Falcon. — Council  at  Head-quarters. — Americans  on 
board,  descending  the  River. — The  Navy  heaves  in  Sight. — Passing  the  Admir- 
al.— The  President's  Indignation  and  the  Seminario. — The  Treaty. — Mr.  Fal- 
con's extraordinary  Letter. — False  Charges  in  the  President's  Message. — The 
French  Colony. — The  Brazilian  Squadron. — Outrage  committed  upon  the  Water 
Witch. — What  our  Policy  with  South  American  States  should  be. 

I  NOW  remained  at  Asuncion  merely  to  make  all  necessary  ar- 
rangements for  the  alterations  of  the  Pilcomayo,  and  to  bring  up 
a  fair  copy  of  parts  of  the  v^ork  of  the  expedition,  to  be  sent  to 
the  Navy  Department.  The  latter  duty  was  assigned  to  Lieuten- 
ants Murdaugh  and  Henry,  and  the  former  to  Engineers  Stump 
and  Taylor,  who  furnished  a  plan  for  the  proposed  changes. 
Lieutenant  Welsh  had  been  suffering  from  a  severe  attack  of 
neuralgia,  aggravated  by  exposure  in  the  Vermejo;  and  his  gen- 
eral health  was  so  much  impaired  that  I  felt  reluctantly  obliged 
to  dispense  with  his  services,  and  gave  him  ordeTs  to  return 
home.  I  then  determined  to  proceed  to  Corrientes,  with  the  view 
of  examining  the  northern  and  western  parts  of  the  province,  and 


264  VISIT  TO  THE  PKESIDENT. 

to  obtain  the  aid  of  a  macliiiiist  for  some  repairs  needed  by  tlie 
Water  Witch. 

I  was  going  to  a  state  for  which  the  President  of  Paraguay  had 
no  friendly  feelings ;  but  in  nry  visit  of  leave  the  manner  of  his 
Excellency  was  not  only  civil,  but  actually  approached  to  cordial- 
ity. He  desired  me  to  call  upon  the  government,  without  reserve, 
for  any  aid  needed  in  the  reconstruction  of  the  small  steamer,  and 
to  remember  that  my  requests  would  always  meet  with  a  favor- 
able reception.  So  entirely  did  he  relax  from  his  usual  reserve 
on  this  occasion,  that  he  accompanied  me  to  the  door,  and  taking 
my  hand,  expressed  himself  kindly  for  my  success  and  speedy 
return. 

Arriving  at  Corrientes,  I  called  on  Governor  Pujol,  who  met 
frankly  my  request  to  visit  the  interior  of  the  pro^dnce,  and  said 
he  would  have  orders  issued  from  the  postal  department  to  afford 
every  assistance.  In  the  Argentine  States,  as  in  Paraguay,  postas 
(post-houses)  are  established  at  distances  of  one,  two,  or  three 
leagues  throughout  the  country,  and  a  sufficient  number  of  extra 
horses  are  kept  at  them  to  meet  any  emergency  that  may  occur. 
The  traveler  will  always  find  his  movements  expedited  by  adding 
a  few  pennies  to  the  usual  charge  per  league ;  for  the  master  of 
the  post  has  generally  some  good  animals,  his  private  property, 
while  those  of  the  government  are  often  so  much  broken  down 
that  I  was  compelled,  at  times,  to  turn  my  horse  upon  the  road, 
and  procure  another  from  the  nearest  house. 

Wishing  to  see  the  country  adjacent  to  the  river  during  the 
rainy  season,  and  with  the  hope  of  adding  something  new  to  our 
collections,  I  determined  to  make  a  little  boat-cruise  up  the  Eia- 
chuelo,  a  small  stream  that  rises  in  the  interior  and  empties  into  the 
Parana  nine  miles  below  Corrientes.  I  was  fortunate  in  obtain- 
ing some  rare  birds,  and  in  seeing — what  alone  would  have  repaid 
for  a  longer  journey — the  "  queen  of  the  nymphasaceee"  upon  its 
native  waters.  Extensive  shallow  lagoons,  pure  and  limpid,  were 
gemmed  with  islands  of  the  "Victoria  Eegia,"  or  "mais  del  agua" 
(corn  of  the  water),  as  it  is  called  in  the  country ;  for  it  is  not 
only  the  queen  of  the  floral  tribes,  but  ministers  to  the  necessities 
of  man.  Its  seeds,  which  are  about  the  size  of  large  buck-shot, 
consist  of  a  thin  shell  inclosing  a  white  mealy  substance.  They 
are  gathered  by  the  Corrientinos  and  pounded  into  meal,  from 
which  they  make  excellent  and  nutritious  bread.  I  procured  a 
quantity,  and  sent  them  carefully  sealed  to  the  Navy  Department. 


THE  VICTOKIA  REGIA.  265 

I  did  not  perhaps  see  the  "regia"  in  all  its  glory,  for  the  season 
of  full  flower,  May  and  June,  had  passed ;  but  it  was  still  budding 
and  blooming  in  sufficient  perfection  to  delight  the  eye.  A  plant, 
with  some  of  its  native  soil  and  water,  was  placed  in  a  cask,  but 
with  all  my  care  it  died.  What  infinite  study  is  found  in  its 
leaves — those  great  pages  of  Nature's  book !  I  never  wearied  in 
examining  their  mechanism.  Here,  spreading  over  the  lagoons, 
they  looked  as  if  they  would  bear  the  weight  of  men,  and  were 
covered  at  all  times  after  dawn  with  myriads  of  water-fowl,  glean- 
ing the  "corn,"  unless  anticipated  by  the  natives.  The  descrip- 
tion given  of  this  plant  by  Mr.  Schomburgk,  its  discoverer,  while 
exploring  the  river  Berbice  in  1837,  renders  unnecessary  any  de- 
scription from  me  of  the  "  mais  del  agua"  of  the  Riachuelo  of  Cor- 
rientes.  The  regia  of  the  former  is  of  superior  size  to  that  of  the 
latter  place.* 

I  frequently  left  the  boat  and  walked  over  the  neighboring 
country.  The  soil  is  a  rich  dark  loam,  covered  with  fine  grass. 
The  sod  had  in  many  places  perhaps  never  been  turned,  but  where 
attempts  at  cultivation  had  been  made,  the  product  of  corn  and 
tobacco  was  excellent. 

The  orange-groves  were  generally  neglected.  I  must  except, 
however,  a  superb  orchard  of  six  thousand  trees,  one  half  of 
which,  too  young  for  bearing,  were  growing  vigorously,  while 
three  thousand  were  bending  under  the  weight  of  their  golden 
fruit,  and  yielded  an  income,  I  was  told,  of  $2500  per  annum. 
These  oranges  are  inferior  to  those  of  Paraguay.  Indeed,  those 
grown  on  the  Parana,  east  of  the  capital,  are  not  so  fine  as  the 
fruit  of  the  opposite  shores. 

*  Schomburgk  says :  "  The  leaf,  on  its  surface,  is  of  a  bright  green,  in  form 
orbiculate,  with  this  exception,  opposite  its  axis,  where  it  is  slightly  bent  in :  its 
diameter  measured  from  five  to  six  feet :  around  the  margin  extended  a  rim  about 
three  to  five  inches  high:  on  the  inside  light  green,  like  the  surface  of  the  leaf; 
on  the  outside,  like  the  leaf's  lower  part,  of  a  bright  crimson.'  The  stem  of  the 
flower  is  an  inch  thick  near  the  calyx,  and  is  studded  with  sharp  elastic  prickles 

about  three  quarters  of  an  inch  in  length The  diameter  of  the  calyx  is 

twelve  or  thirteen  inches :  on  it  rests  the  magnificent  flower,  which,  when  fully 
developed,  covers  completely  the  calyx  with  its  hundred  petals.  When  it  first 
opens,  it  is  white,  with  pink  in  the  middle,  which  spreads  over  the  whole  flower 
the  more  it  advances  in  age,  and  it  is  generally  found  the  next  day  of  a  pink  color ; 
as  if  to  enhance  its  beauty,  it  is  sweet-scented  ;  and,  like  others  of  its  tribe,  it  pos- 
sesses a  fleshy  disk,  and  petals  and  stamens  pass  gradually  into  each  other,  and 
many  petaloid  leaves  may  be  observed  which  have  vestiges  of  an  anther." 

1  The  color  of  those  I  saw  waa  very  much  the  same  on  both  sides,  a  light  green ;  and  the  size  four 
feet  in  diameter. 


266  A.  FRENCH  AGRICULTURIST. 

Civil  wars  liave  so  desolated  this  part  of  the  province  and  so 
diminished  the  cattle  that  now  the  orange-groves  form  the  princi- 
pal source  of  income  to  landed  proprietors.  They  require  little 
attention,  and  a  ready  sale  is  afforded  by  the  fruit- vessels  that  ply 
up  and  down  the  river.  As  the  best  estancias  are  generally 
owned  by  wealthy  individuals  residing  at  the  capital,  their  only 
buildings  are  the  rude  dwellings  of  the  capitazes  or  herdsmen. 
At  these  or  in  some  abandoned  hut  we  generally  slept,  spending 
the  days  in  seeking  ornithological  or  botanical  specimens,  and 
taking  our  meals  wherever  chance  found  us. 

In  our  wanderings  we  came  to  the  land  of  an  industrious  French 
immigrant,  who,  with  a  large  family,  had  established  himself  on 
the  Parana.  He  was  breaking  up  his  ground  with  a  modem 
plow  after  the  most  approved  system ;  and,  from  the  appearance 
of  the  rich,  dark  soil,  his  labors  were  probably  well  remunerated 
by  the  return  crops.  From  this  farm  we  passed  to  that  of  a  na- 
tive, who  was  standing  lazily  looking  on,  while  a  boy  with  a  fine 
yoke  of  oxen  and  a  wooden  plow,  probably  such  as  was  used  in 
the  days  of  the  Conquest,  was  scratching  the  surface  of  a  piece  of 
ground  about  fifty  yards  square. 

"Did  you  see  my  neighbor  plowing?"  asked  the  Corrientino. 

"Yes." 

He  broke  into  a  long,  loud  laugh.  "What  a  plow!  Ha!  ha! 
na !  that  fool  of  a  Frenchman !  He's  crazy,  sir !  Why,  sir,  he  is 
opening  the  ground  as  wide  as  the  streets  of  the  capital !" 

The  Frenchman's  crops  will,  I  presume,  prove  an  unanswerable 
argument  upon  the  merits  of  the  two  plows,  and  turn  the  laugh 
against  his  neighbor. 

The  Riachuelo  did  not  extend  far  into  the  interior ;  but  in  fol- 
lowing its  course  I  was  enabled  to  see  a  part  of  the  province  south 
of  the  capital,  much  better  adapted  to  agriculture  than  that  bor- 
dering the  Parana,  east  of  it.  Population  is  alone  wanting  here,  as 
in  all  parts  of  the  Confederation.  What  homes  these  expanded 
plains  and  the  delicious  climate  offer  to  immigrants!  What  a 
percentage  on  labor  and  capital  might  be  drawn  from  these  fertile 
wastes ! 

We  returned  to  Corrientes ;  and  with  our  saddle-bags  (alforjas) 
packed  with  tea,  sugar,  bread,  and  a  little  cana,  recommended  as 
"  cooling  in  summer  and  warming  in  winter,"  were  soon  equip- 
ped for  a  longer  journey  in  the  interior. 

Upon  a  fine  September  morning,  the  doctor  and  myself,  mount- 


SAN  COSMI.— YTATI.  267 

ing  our  rather  sorry  horses,  started  eastward,  seeking  science  and 
adventure.  Our  first  stopping  -  place  was  Posta  Contaro,  about 
twenty  miles  from  the  capital,  where  we  were  kindly  welcomed, 
refreshed  with  supper  of  "  asado"  and  mandioca,  and,  after  cigars, 
made  quite  members  of  the  family  by  having  our  hammocks 
slung  up  in  the  same  room  with  the  master  of  the  post,  his  wife, 
three  other  women,  and  five  children ;  one  of  these  an  infant,  who 
entertained  us  during  the  night  with  solos  and  snatches  of  song 
that  indicated  good  lungs.  These  poor  people  did  their  best  to 
accommodate  us,  for  this  little  adobe  house  had  but  one  room, 
with  a  couple  of  benches,  two  chairs,  and  a  rickety  table  for  its 
fui'niture.  Surrounding  it  was  an  iuclosure  with  a  few  rows  of 
corn,  mandioca,  and  tobacco. 

The  following  day  we  reached  San  Cosmi,  and,  by  the  activity 
of  the  Juiz  de  Paz,  were  assigned  an  empty  room,  which  was 
transformed  into  a  cheery,  comfortable  apartment  by  the  thought- 
fnl  kindness  of  a  lady,  Seiiora  Casales,  to  whom  we  had  letters  of 
introduction.  Two  cots,  tables,  and  chairs  soon  made  their  ap- 
pearance, followed  by  what  we  could  not  have  expected,  meals  at 
stated  hours.  These  consisted  of  beef,  bread,  chickens,  eggs,  and, 
what  was  really  a  luxury,  snowy  table-linen  with  plates,  knives 
and  forks,  all  temptingly  clean.  The  hospitality  of  this  place  was 
repeated  wherever  we  traveled  in  the  Argentine  States,  and  nev- 
er hmited  but  by  the  means  of  our  entertainers.  San  Cosmi  has 
about  four  hundred  inhabitants,  with  a  plaza,  around  which  stand 
the  church  and  the  best  dwellings.  The  latter  are  generally  adobe 
houses  of  one  story,  either  tiled  or  thatched.  From  a  hedge  in 
this  neighborhood  I  procured  the  silk  of  a  small  black  spider, 
long,  exquisitely  fine,  and  yet  so  strong  that,  as  I  wound  it  upon 
a  card,  the  branches  of  the  hedge  would  bend  without  breaking 
the  web. 

Our  next  ride  was  to  Ytati,  a  village  of  several  hundred  inhab- 
itants, twenty  miles  from  San  Cosmi,  and  in  the  immediate  vicin- 
age of  the  Parana,  of  which  it  commands  an  extended  view.  We 
went  first  to  the  house  of  the  Juiz  de  Paz,  whose  pretty  young 
wife  received  us  with  all  the  tact  and  ease  innate  to  the  women 
of  that  country,  however  humble  their  position.  She  chatted 
without  embarrassment,  and,  probably  discovering  from  our  hun- 
gry faces  that  we  had  fasted  for  twelve  hours,  soon  busied  herself 
earnestly  in  preparing  a  supper  which,  to  my  surprise,  comprised 
not  only  beef,  chickens,  and  honey,  but  cow's  milk  and  tea.     The 


268  THE  HACIENDA  YRISBUQUA. 

last  was  a  delicate  attention  that  we  appreciated.  A  native  of  tlie 
capital,  the  senora  had  perhaps"  there  learned  that  this  was  the  fa- 
vorite evening  beverage  of  foreigners.  The  plaza  and  its  adobe 
houses  were,  in  this  place,  overshadowed  by  an  old  Jesuitic  church, 
then  dilapidated,  but  which  was  about  to  undergo  repairs  that  will 
make  it  one  of  the  finest  buildings  of  the  province. 

The  appearance  of  the  country  thus  far — forty  miles  east  of  the 
city  of  Corrientes — was  singular  but  picturesque,  and  needs  but 
dwellings  and  culture  to  make  it  extremely  beautiful.  It  was  not 
low  or  level,  but  broken  by  verdant  lomas  (hillocks)  and  gentle 
undulations,  intersected  by  lakes,  some  insulated,  others  connected 
by  miniature  straits.  These  lakes  were  covered  with  myriads  of 
water-fowl,  and,  as  we  looked  back  upon  them  from  some  ridge 
of  land,  their  waters  sparkled  in  the  §unlight,  and  the  birds  sport- 
ed as  if  alive  to  the  beauty  and  security  of  haunts  rarely  or  never 
invaded  by  man. 

Civil  wars  have  desolated  this  land.  Hedges  alone  marked  the 
inclosures  where  once  stood  the  buildings  of  a  now  abandoned 
estancia.  The  soil  was  rich  and  light;  the  corn  and  tobacco  in 
quality  quite  equal  to  the  best  of  Paraguay;  and  the  yield,  in 
proportion  to  the  extent  of  ground  cultivated,  is  the  best  evidence 
of  adaptation  for  such  produce.  I  thought  the  pastures  of  the  lo- 
mas better  adapted  to  the  rearing  of  sheep  than  of  horned  cattle. 

A  visit  to  the  Hacienda  Yrisbuqua,  about  twenty  miles  from 
Ytati,  enabled  me  to  see  the  management  of  one  of  the  largest 
grazing  estates  in  the  province,  its  owner,  Don  Anjel  Bedoya,  hav- 
ing given  us  letters  to  his  capitaz.  In  approaching  it,  the  low- 
lands were  much  under  water,  but  the  general  appearance  of  the 
country  was  improved.  The  dwellings  were  placed  upon  the  lo- 
mas, above  the  influence  of  inundation,  and,  though  few  and  far 
between,  were  substantially  built  either  of  burned  brick  and  tiled, 
or  of  adobe  and  roofed  with  palm.  There  was  no  cultivation ;  but 
the  pastures  were  fine,  the  cattle,  horses,  and  sheep  superior  in 
number  and  size  to  any  yet  seen  in  Corrientes ;  and  the  growth 
of  algarroba  and  espinilla,  the  only  woods  there  of  any  value, 
abundant.  A  hacienda,  or  grazing  farm,*  embraces  generally  an 
area  of  six  miles  square,  with  about  6000  head  of  cattle,  500 
sheep,  and  a  few  hundred  horses.  Although  a  great  proportion 
of  the  land  seemed  to  be  not  only  arable,  but  of  superior  quality, 

*  A  hacienda  is  exclusively  a  grazing  farm,  while  on  an  estancia  cultivation  is 
combined  with  grazing. 


HOESE-BREAKING.  269 

we  did  not  observe  on  one  of  them  a  yard  square  under  culture ; 
not  even  a  garden  around  the  dwelUng  of  the  capitaz. 

In  riding  over  the  property  of  Don  Anjel  I  had  quite  a  novel 
amusement.  An  ostrich  crossed  my  path,  and,  as  I  was  well 
mounted,  with  an  extended  plain  before  me,  I  determined  to  try  ^ 
its  speed  with  that  of  my  horse.  I  kept  up  the  chase  for  more 
than  a  mile,  when  I  abandoned  the  pursuit;  for  it  was  evident 
that  the  ostrich  "had  the  heels"  of  the  horse. 

Mares  were  not  worth  more  than  fifty  cents  a  head,  there  being 
an  absurd  prejudice  against  their  use,  even  as  beasts  of  burden; 
and  a  man  mounted  on  one  would  create  as  great  a  sensation  and 
excite  as  much  ridicule  as  a  dandy  upon  a  donkey  in  one  of  our 
thoroughfares  of  fashion.  They  are  kept  for  breeding,  and  the  in- 
crease is  so  enormous  that  they  are  slaughtered  by  hundreds, 
merely  for  their  hides  and  grease,  the  latter  being  esteemed,  for 
some  purposes,  superior  to  beef's  tallow.  The  hair  is  worth  about 
one  dollar  fifty  cents  the  aroba,  or  six  cents  the  pound;  and 
large  herds  are  driven  into  corrals  exclusively  for  the  shearing. 
A  mounted  gaucho  throws  the  lasso  over  the  neck ;  another  on 
foot  secures  the  hind  legs,  when  the  mare  is  brought  to  the  ground; 
a  third  seizes  the  mane,  a  fourth  the  tail ;  and  thus,  in  an  incredi- 
bly short  time,  the  poor  animal  is  despoiled. 

We  also  witnessed  the  "  breaking"  of  saddle-horses  and  milch 
cows,  the  latter  by  no  means  a  common  operation ;  for  few  things 
are  less  cared  for  than  milk  by  the  natives  of  La  Plata. 

A  wild  horse  is  taken,  by  lasso,  from  a  troop  in  the  corral,  to  a 
post  where,  with  his  head  closely  confined,  he  is  left  for  some 
hours  kicking  and  pitching.  To  accustom  him  to  the  touch,  the 
domador  (horse-breaker)  from  time  to  time  throws  a  lasso  about 
his  legs,  which  so  maddens  the  animal  that  his  struggles  become 
frightful,  and  end  in  his  falling  exhausted  upon  the  ground.  The 
guacho  then  bridles  him,  and,  as  the  horse  regains  his  feet,  puts 
on  the  "  recado,"  while  another  releases  his  head  and  springs  upon 
his  back.  This  is  all  the  work  of  an  instant.  Now  the  battle  be- 
tween rider  and  animal  begins.  The  latter  plunges,  pitches,  and 
rears,  but  in  vain.  There  is  no  unhorsing  the  domador,  who 
dashes  on  at  full  speed,  whipping  and  spurring  until,  completely 
subdued,  the  horse  is  brought  back  to  the  post,  to  be  exercised 
in  the  same  way  the  following  day,  and  again  and  again,  until  he 
is  pronounced  muy  maiiso^  broken,  but  rarely  gentle. 

The  cow  is  caught  and  thrown  down  by  the  lasso,  when  a  worn- 


270  riEST  DIFFICULTY  IN  PAKAGUAY. 

an  tramples  upon  the  udder  to  cause  a  discharge  of  milk.  The 
animal  is  then  led  to  a  post,  where  she  is  bound  head  and  legs 
while  the  milking  goes  on.  In  a  few  days' she  is  sufficiently 
tamed  to  be  classed  among  domestic  animals. 

On  returning  to  Ytati  I  found  a  letter  from  Lieutenant  Powell 
requesting  my  presence  in  Asuncion,  where  a  serious  difficulty  had 
arisen  between  the  United  States  Consul  and  President  Lopez. 

This  controversy  had  passed  through  many  phases  when  I  ar- 
rived at  the  capital,  and  I  have  no  idea  of  entering  into  details, 
farther  than  to  state  that  the  immediate  cause  of  its  outbursting, 
at  that  particular  time,  was  an  assault  made  by  a  soldier  on  the 
person  of  the  brother  of  Mr.  Hopkins  while  riding  with  a  lady, 
also  a  foreigner.  The  man  was  driving  cattle  to  the  city,  and  on 
being  met  or  overtaken  by  the  riding  party  the  herd  was  dis- 
persed into  the  woods. 

There  was  no  personal  injury  to  the  lady  or  gentleman,  but  the 
insult  was  to  be  considered,  and  justly  made  a  subject  of  com- 
plaint. In  other  countries  it  could  have  been  settled  without  be- 
ing a  government  affair ;  but  here  the  President,  as  I  have  before 
so  often  stated,  is  the  law,  judiciary,  and,  defacto^  head  of  all  things. 

President  Lopez  took  exception  to  the  language  in  which  the 
complaint  was  made.  A  paper  war  ensued ;  crimination  followed 
recrimination.  The  consular  exequatur  was  revoked,  and  the 
wrath  of  the  Chief  Magistrate  extended  to  the  members  of  the 
American  Company,  of  which  Mr.  Hopkins  was  agent.  They  had 
been  permitted  to  occupy  the  quartel  of  San  Antonio ;  had  im- 
proved the  grounds,  purchased  some  adjoining  lands,  erected  a 
saw-mill,  and  established  a  cigar-factory.  They  were  now  forced 
to  give  up  the  quartel.  The  controversy  waxed  hotter  and  hot- 
ter. Decrees  or  handos  intended  to  embarrass  their  operations 
were  issued,  and  at  last  the  cigar-factory  was  closed,  thereby  vir- 
tually closing  the  business  of  the  company  in  Paraguay.  I  give  a 
few  of  the  handos^  which,  though  applied  to  all  foreigners,  were  at 
this  time  issued  for  the  special  embarrassment  of  the  Americans. 

"  1.  No  servant  shall  engage  in  the  service  of  a  foreigner  vrithout  a  writ- 
ten agreement  or  notification  given  and  approved  by  the  government,  as  to 
the  amount  of  wages. 

"  2.  All  meetings  of  foreigners,  except  for  the  ostensible  object  of  visit- 
ing and  innocent  diversion,  are  forbidden,  by  day  and  by  night. 

"  3.  All  foreigners  must  take  out  a  license  to  engage  in  any  commercial 
or  industrial    ursuit." 


INTERVIEW  WITH  THE  PRESIDENT.  271 

This  last  article  was  reasonable ;  but  tlie  company,  thougli  go- 
ing on  for  a  year,  liad  not  before  been  required  to  take  out  a  li- 
cense, and  when  Mr.  Hopkins  made  an  application  for  it,  in  the 
character  of  "general  agent,"  having  paid  sixteen  dollars  for  the 
stamped  paper,  it  was  refused  on  the  ground  of  his  being  "gen- 
eral agent."  This  title  was  objectionable  to  the  government,  and 
would  not  be  recognized.  He  must  apply  as  "  agent,"  without 
the  "general." 

I  am  to  this  day  mystified  by  this  phase  of  the  difS,culty.  There 
was  but  one  General  in  Paraguay,  the  son  and  heir  of  the  Presi- 
dent; but  by  what  process  of  reasoning  the  title  of  the  "  General 
Agent"  reflected  upon  the  head  of  the  military  arm  I  am  unable 
to  say ;  neither  do  I  see  why  it  should  not  have  been  relinquished. 
There  were  other  petty  annoyances,  seemingly  of  a  general  bear- 
ing, but  in  fact  aimed  at  the  American  Company. 

Affairs  had  reaiched  this  crisis  when  I  arrived  at  Asuncion,  and 
found  Mr.  Hopkins  determined,  by  reason  of  the  course  of  the 
government,  to  leave  the  country  with  the  members  of  the  com- 
pany and  such  of  their  effects  as  coiild  be  conveniently  removed. 

To  show  my  course  in  this  controversy,  and  the  part  I  took  to- 
ward effecting  a  restoration  of  the  former  state  of  things,  to  enable 
the  company  to  proceed  with  its  operations,  I  shall  quote  from 
my  journal : 

"  Sept.  21si',  1854.  This  morning,  at  9  A.M.,  I  called  on  Presi- 
dent Lopez ;  was  courteously  received,  and  discussed  the  difficulty 
between  the  government  and  Mr.  Hopkins  at  some  length.  The 
President  said  the  soldier  had  been  severely  punished  by  the  in- 
fliction of  three  hundred  stripes  in  "  running  the  gauntlet"  through 
the  regiment  to  which  he  was  attached.  He  complained  of  the 
intemperate  language  of  Mr.  Hopkins.  It  was,  he  said,  insulting 
to  him,  and  he  had  in  consequence  withdrawn  his  exequatur. 

"  I  desired  to  be  informed  if  the  American  Company  would  be 
allowed  to  carry  on  its  operations  under  a  guarantee  of  protection. 
He  assured  me  that  it  would,  and  that  it  should  receive  every 
protection  enjoyed  by  other  business  associations,  whether  foreign 
or  native ;  but  that  the  agent,  Mr,  Hopkins,  was  personally  ob- 
noxious to  him,  and  he  would  not  consent  to  his  engaging  in  any 
business  in  the  country. 

"  I  informed  him  that  other  Americans  belonging  to  the  com- 
pany had  complained  to  me  of  insulting  remarks  made  to  them 
since  that  occurrence,  even  by  officials ;  and  said,  '  I  wish  to  know, 


272  THE  AMERICAN  COMPANY. 

Sir,  if,  in  the  event  of  tkeir  remaining,  tliey  will  be  treated  person- 
ally with  respect,  and  shielded  from  the  possible  recurrence  of  in- 
sult or  indignities.'     He  replied,  '  They  shall.' 

"  I  met  Mr.  Hopkins  by  appointment,  and  informed  him  of  the 
result  of  my  interview  with  the  President,  He  then  informed  me 
that  the  business  of  the  company  had  been  broken  up  by  the  ac- 
tion of  the  government,  regardless  of  all  pre-existing  contracts ; 
and  that  he  should  hold  it  responsible  for  the  damages,  looking 
to  the  United  States  Government  for  the  enforcement  of  the  rec- 
lamation ;  that,  under  these  circumstances,  he  wished,  with  the 
company,  to  withdraw  from  Paraguay,  but  that  no  trading  vessel 
would  take  them,  the  master  fearing  that  the  odium  in  which  he 
was  held  by  the  government  would  be  visited  on  them. 

"I  replied,  'I  will  see  the  President,  and  if  no  arrangement 
can  be  made  for  your  leaving  the  country  by  a  trading  vessel,  I 
will  receive  the  members  of  the  company  and  their  effects  on 
board  the  Water  Witch,  and  convey  them  to  Corrientes' — this 
being  the  point  at  which  he  wished  to  establish  them. 

"  I  called  again  at  the  government-house,  stated  to  the  Presi- 
dent the  apprehensions  of  Mr.  Hopkins,  and  suggested  that  he 
should  allow  the  Captain  of  the  Port  to  procure  a  vessel,  which 
would  at  once  set  at  rest  the  fears  of  any  shipmaster  as  to  the 
consequences  of  receiving  the  Americans.  He  said,  '  This  shall 
be  done.'  '  Now,  Sir,'  I  asked,  '  what  forms  must  be  complied 
with  to  enable  the  company  to  leave  Paraguay  with  their  prop- 
erty?' He  replied,  'They  will  simply  be  required  to  procure 
passports,  and  a  "permit"  from  the  custom-house  for  the  shipment 
of  their  effects  and  merchandise,  all  of  which  they  are  at  liberty 
to  take  with  them,  pa3dng  the  export  duty  on  such  articles  as  are 
products  of  the  country,'  They  had  about  eight  hundred  arobas 
of  superior  tobacco, 

"  A  vessel  was  engaged,  passports  obtained,  and  I  concluded 
that  all  was  satisfactorily  arranged  for  the  departure  of  the  com- 
pany, when  one  of  its  members  came  on  board  the  Water  Witch 
and  complained  of  fresh  insults  by  the  Chief  of  Police. 

"  Again  I  called  on  the  President.  It  was  my  last  interview 
with  his  Excellency.  I  reminded  him  of  the  assurances  he  had 
given  me  as  to  the  personal  treatment  of  the  members  of  the  com- 
pany, and  stated  the  new  complaint,  informing  him,  at  the  same 
time,  in  decided  but  courteous  language,  that  my  duty  obliged 
me  to  watch  over  the  rights  of  American  citizens  wherever  I 


PROGRESS  OF  THE  DIFFICULTY.  273 

should  meet  them  abroad.  The  Chief  of  PoKce  was  summoned, 
and  in  a  few  minutes  was  announced  as  waiting  the  orders  of 
his  Excellency.  He  was  directed  to  enter.  The  door  opened, 
the  Chief  of  Police  stood  on  the  threshold,  and  made  a  low  bow. 
*  Approach,'  said  his  Excellency.  The  Chief  of  Police  approached. 
'  Take  a  seat.'  He  sat  down,  but  uneasily.  It  was  an  unusual 
honor  accorded  him.  The  President  stated  the  charge  made 
against  him.  He  of  course  denied  every  word,  rising  to  his  feet 
as  he  spoke. 

"  '  Be  seated.  Sir,'  said  the  President. 

"  The  Chief  pf  Police  could  not  be  kept  seated,  and  rose  at 
every  word  addressed  to  his  Excellency.  He  was  at  last  ordered 
to  withdraw.  The  President  was  apparently  as  well  satisfied  of 
the  truth  of  his  statement  as  I  was  of  the  contrary.  He  then  said 
that  as  the  American  in  question  had  been  the  superintendent  of 
the  factory,  he  wished  him  to  remove  the  sign  (a  piece  of  tin)  and 
take  a  receipt  for  it,  as  he  did  not  wish  to  give  the  company  occa- 
sion to  say  that  any  of  its  property  was  withheld.  I  told  him  the 
individual  in  question  could  not  do  this,  but  I  would  relieve  his 
Excellency  from  all  embarrassment  by  directing  one  of  my  boat's 
crew  to  receive  it.  With  some  hesitancy,  he  acceded  to  this  ar- 
rangement. 

"  In  this  interview  I  expressed  myself  very  decidedly,  but  with 
the  courtesy  due  to  the  President's  position,  and  we  parted  appar- 
ently without  any  rupture  of  our  friendly  relations. 

"  I  had  scarcely  got  on  board  the  Water  Witch,  congratulating 
myself  that  the  difficulties  were  over,  when  another  note  was  re- 
ceived from  Mr.  Hopkins.  On  applying  for  a  '  permit'  to  ship 
the  goods,  it  had  been  refused  until  he  should  surrender  the  pa- 
pers, deeds,  etc.,  which  secured  to  the  company  certain  lands,  pur- 
chased and  paid  for. 

"  Before  taking  any  farther  steps  I  sent  my  clerk  to  ascertain 
from  the  Collector  if  I  must  understand  that  he  refused  a  '  permit' 
for  the  dispatch  of  the  company's  merchandise  on  the  grounds 
mentioned.     He  returned  with  a  reply  in  the  affirmative. 

"I  had  been  long  enough  in  the  country  to  know  that  the  Col- 
lector would  not  dare  to  take  such  a  step  without  instructions 
from  the  President.  It  was  in  direct  violation  of  every  promise 
his  Excellency  had  given  me,  and  I  saw  clearly  that  the  moment 
had  arrived  when  my  action  in  this  difficulty  should  be  matter  of 
record.     I  addressed  a  note  to  the  Minister  of  Foreign  Eelations, 

18 


274  RETURN  OF  LETTERS. 

Stating  the  facts  of  the  case,  repeating  the  assurances  of  the  Presi- 
dent, and  telhng  him  what  would  be  my  course  for  the  relief  of 
the  members  of  this  company  if  they  were  not  allowed  to  depart 
by  the  usual  mode  of  conveyance. 

"  On  the  afternoon  of  the  same  day  I  had  received  no  reply ; 
but  a  verbal  message  came  from  the  Minister  of  Foreign  Eelations 
to  the  captain's  clerk,  desiring  him  to  call  at  his  ofl&ce.  I  gave 
him  permission  to  go ;  but,  suspecting  that  the  object  of  this  call 
was  to  question  him  as  to  my  correspondence,  I  enjoined  silence. 
The  secretary  desired  him  to  take  my  notes  and  request  me  to 
have  them  translated.  I  replied  verbally  that  I  must  correspond 
with  the  government  in  my  own  language,  and  could  not  allow 
my  letters  to  be  translated  by  any  one  associated  with  me.  Ac- 
companying the  note  in  question  was  one  informing  him  that  I 
had  just  received  dispatches  from  our  Minister  at  the  Court  of 
Brazil  inclosing  permission  from  his  Imperial  Majesty's  Govern- 
ment to  explore  the  Paraguay  and  its  tributaries,  within  the  lim- 
its of  the  empire,  and  expressing  the  hope  that  his  Excellency 
would  allow  me  again  to  pass  through  the  waters  of  his  territory 
to  reach  those  of  Brazil.  This  note  shared  the  fate  of  the  others. 
But  that  the  contents  of  both  were  known  to  the  President  is  evi- 
dent from  the  tenor  of  subsequent  articles  in  the  Seminario,  the 
government  organ,  published  at  Asuncion. 

"  President  Lopez,  I  am  told,  reads  both  French  and  English  ;* 
added  to  this,  there  is  an  intelligent  Englishman  residing  at 
Asuncion  who  translates  for  him,  and  much  more  correctly  than 
I,  my  clerk,  or  any  one  associated  with  me  could  possibly  have 
done. 

"  Failing  to  coerce  me  into  this  measure — the  sole  object  of 
which  was  to  exhibit  to  the  people  of  Paraguay  his  authority  over 
a  foreign  officer — my  notes  were  returned  the  following  day,  with 
one  from  the  Minister  of  Foreign  Relations,  Mr.  Jose  Falcon,  in- 
forming me  that  the  President  did  not  read  English,  and  desiring 
that  I  would  translate  them  into  Spanish,  when  they  would  re- 
ceive proper  attention. 

"  I  replied  to  Mr.  Falcon,f  stating  that  the  contemptuous  treat- 
ment of  my  official  communications,  addressed  in  courteous  lan- 
guage, was  a  thing  unprecedented  in  this  age  of  civilization ;  that 
it  deprived  me  of  the  means  of  arriving  at  the  intentions  of  his 
government  relative  to  the  departure  of  the  Americans,  and  forced 

*  But  imperfectly,  I  presume.  t  See  Appendix  F. 


DEPARTUEE  FROM  ASUNCION.  275 

upon  me  the  inference  that  my  request  had  been  refased,  thus 
making  it  an  imperative  duty  to  remove  them  from  Paraguay  in 
the  Water  Witch.  At  the  same  time  I  informed  the  Captain  of 
the  Port  that  I  should  receive  them  and  their  effects  on  board, 
and  leave  Asuncion  at  a  certain  hour. 

"  Scarcely  had  this  announcement  been  made  when  President 
Lopez  issued  the  '  permit,'  showing  conclusively  that  his  Excel- 
lency was  fully  informed  of  the  contents  of  my  notes,  if  he  did  not 
read  English." 

It  was  late.  The  Americans  were  in  the  act  of  coming  on 
board  before  its  issue  was  made  known.  It  expedited  matters, 
however,  for  it  was  accompanied  by  an  order  to  the  Port  Captain 
to  afford  them  every  facility  in  shipping  their  goods. 

My  last  written  communication  to  the  Government  of  Paraguay 
was  returned,  accompanied  by  a  note,  of  the  same  tenor  as  the 
previous  one,  from  Mr.  Jose  Falcon.  This  was  sent  by  an  officer 
or  employe  in  the  office  of  the  Captain  of  the  Port,  who,  without 
coming  on  board,  delivered  the  papers  at  the  gangway,  and  made 
off  in  an  instant,  as  if  he  feared  infection  or  capture.  I  gave  them 
in  charge  of  an  officer  of  the  Water  Witch,  and  directed  him  to 
return  them  to  the  Captain  of  the  Port;  and  should  he  object  to 
receive  them,  to  place  them  in  his  office.  The  officer  reported 
that  he  had  acted  in  accordance  with  my  orders. 

Before  getting  under  way,  having  occasion  to  pass  through  a 
good  portion  of  the  town,  I  observed  that  it  presented  an  unusual 
appearance  ;  not  a  soul  was  abroad.  Asuncion  was  not  at  siesta, 
for  it  was  not  the  hour ;  moreover,  heads  were  peering  through 
half-opened  doors,  showing  that  curiosity  was  stronger  than  fear 
or  sleep.  Something  was  wrong,  and  the  people  were  anxious  to 
know  what  difficulties  were  brewing  with  the  "  supreme  govern- 
ment." 

The  plaza,  usually  the  gayest  and  noisiest  place  imaginable, 
was  deserted.  I  missed  the  picturesque  groups  of  market  women, 
with  their  white  cotton  mantas,  seated  upon  the  ground,  encircled 
by  fruits,  vegetables,  and  an  eager  crowd  of  buyers.  Not  a  man, 
cart,  or  horse  was  to  be  seen,  except  a  few  conveying  the  effects 
of  the  American  Company  to  the  beach.  What  was  feared  ?  The 
following  explanation  was  made  : 

"Last  night  (the  28th),  at  midnight,  the  President  called  a  con- 
sultation of  his  advisers,  at  which  your  letter  was  considered. 
The  wise  '  heads'  thought  they  saw  in  it  another  '  Greytown  af- 


276  ASPECT  OF  THE  CAPITAL. 

fair.'  His  Excellency  thought,  as  heavy  bodies  move  slowly,  it 
would  be  prudent  to  be  prepared ;  so  he  sent  for  a  machinist  to 
examine  his  carriage,  and  see  that  all  was  in  good  running  condi- 
tion. Orders  were  issued  that  no  one  should  appear  in  the  plaza 
or  streets  after  eleven  o'clock  this  morning,  and  not  a  horse  or 
cart,  except  those  engaged  in  transporting  the  goods  of  the  Amer- 
ican Company,  was  to  be  seen." 

I  had  observed,  as  I  have  before  stated,  an  unquestioning  sub- 
mission to  the  authority  of  the  President ;  and  in  giving  another's 
statement,  I  do  so  without  adding  my  own  indorsement  of  the 
suspicion. 

"  The  submission  of  the  people  to  the  present  grinding  system 
is  only  simulated.  They  are  not  insensible  to  their  thralldom, 
and  the  President  really  feared  that  if  you  fired  at  the  govern- 
ment-house, the  people  might  avail  themselves  of  the  opportu- 
nity to  rise  and  change  the  order  of  things.  He  was  prepared  to 
run." 

I  had  held  pleasant  social  intercourse,  while  at  Asuncion,  with 
the  Brazilian  Consul,  an  amiable,  gentlemanly  person,  who  came 
on  board  the  "Water  "Witch  and  expressed,  with  much  anxiety, 
the  hope  that  I  was  not  really  about  to  fire  into  the  town.  I  as- 
sured him  that  I  had  no  such  intention,  and  had  never  by  word 
or  deed  intimated  that  I  would  do  so ;  but  that  it  was  utterly  im- 
possible for  me  to  be  responsible  for  the  gossip  of  others,  or  per- 
haps the  inspiration  of  some  wag  who  wished  to  frighten  the 
President.  My  language  and  conduct,  up  to  that  moment,  had 
been  studiously  respectful  to  the  government ;  and  as  it  had 
yielded  every  point,  as  the  Americans  personally  were  safe  and 
on  board  the  "Water  "Witch,  and  the  "  permit"  had  been  issued  to 
facihtate  the  shipment  of  their  goods,  there  was  no  possible  ex- 
cuse for  so  extreme  a  measure.  I  was  not  at  all  ambitious  of  the 
inglorious  achievement  of  firing  into  a  town,  destroying  the  prop- 
erty of  unoffending  citizens,  perhaps  the  lives  of  women  and  chil- 
dren, and  disturbing  the  course  of  a  government  with  which  I  had 
been  directed  to  treat  for  commercial  intercourse.  The  prepara- 
tion of  the  steamer,  with  her  three  howitzers,  placed  on  board  as 
a  protection  against  savages,  was  simply  a  duty  to  meet  any  con- 
tingency that  might  occur.  I  pointed  out  to  him  a  field-piece, 
apparently  a  nine-pounder,  on  a  very  beautiful  and  commanding 
position,  near  a  well-stored  magazine,  and  within  good  howitzer 
range,  aroimd  which  were  a  number  of  soldiers  ready  to  apply 


PASSING  TRES  BOCAS.  279 

the  matcli ;  and  said  to  him,  "  Should  not  that  admonish  me  to 
be  ready  ?     I  shall  certainly  defend  my  flag." 

I  had,  it  is  true,  resolved  that  if  the  property  of  the  Americans 
was  retained  by  the  President,  or  placed  where  it  was  beyond  the 
reach  of  our  guns,  to  return  the  compliment  by  capturing  his 
"  navy"  at  Tres  Bocas.  But  I  had  made  no  such  threat,  had  no 
excuse  for  such  an  act  at  that  time,  and  did  not  regret  it.  Under 
the  "  permit"  finally  issued,  the  effects  of  the  company  which  could 
not  be  taken  on  board  the  Water  Witch  were  placed  in  the  hands 
of  an  agent,  to  be  shipped  to  Corrientes, 

With  the  Americans  on  board  I  left  Asuncion  the  29th  of  Sep- 
tember. On  reaching  Tres  Bocas  we  observed  an  unusual  array 
of  soldiers,  and  the  little  navy  of  five  vessels,  with  their  arma- 
ment, ranging  from  two  to  six  guns,  all  doubly  manned,  and 
ready,  as  the  President  had  said,  to  "  salute  or  fight."  The  ves- 
sels were  moored  so  close  to  the  bank  that  a  plank  from  each 
would  have  enabled  the  personnel  of  the  marine  to  make  an  ex- 
cursion into  the  interior  of  the  country  at  the  shortest  possible  no- 
tice. On  the  deck  of  the  flag-ship,  a  prominent  figure  in  the  pic- 
ture, stood  my  old  friend  the  "  Admiral."  Salutes  would  have 
been  dangerous;  for,  from  the  evident  state  of  hostile  preparation, 
the  first  flash  of  one  of  their  guns  might  have  been  returned  by  a 
fire  from  our  howitzer,  without  delay  for  explanation.  We  passed 
slowly  and  in  silence ;  many  a  soul  on  the  Water  Witch  devoutly 
hoping,  perhaps,  that  some  brave  son  of  Paraguay  would  provoke 
a  fight. 

I  was  glad  that  we  were  able  to  leave  Paraguay  peacefully. 
From  our  first  entrance  into  her  waters  and  the  "  Admiral's"  re- 
ception at  Tres  Bocas ;  in  our  cruise  to  the  northern  frontier ; 
during  my  land  journey  through  the  interior  from  west  to  east, 
from  river  to  river,  and  in  that  subsequently  made  by  Lieutenant 
Powell  through  the  Yerbales,  we  had  been  hospitably  and  kindly 
received.  And,  indeed,  the  course  of  the  President  toward  us, 
until  his  outbreak  with  the  Consul,  was  characterized  by  extreme 
consideration.  In  all  my  official  intercourse  with  him,  in  applica- 
tions for  facilities  which  the  government  alone  could  grant  in 
forwarding  the  expedition — and  it  has  been  seen  that  they  were 
not  unfrequent — he  met  my  propositions  readily  and  observed  his 
promises  to  the  letter.  I  was  aware  of  the  faults  of  his  political 
system,  but  even  that  was  better  than  I  had  been  led  to  anticipate 
before  entering  the  country.     My  business  there  was  not  that 


280  COURSE  OF  THE  EXPEDITION. 

of  a  regenerator.  On  the  contrary,  while  acting  firmly  and,  to 
the  best  of  my  ability,  conscientiously,  for  the  protection  of  the 
American  Trading  Company,  the  dignity  of  our  flag,  and  with  a 
due  regard  to  our  national  interests,  I  studiously  avoided  wound- 
ing the  susceptibilities  of  the  people  and  rulers. 

Paraguay  had  scarcely  joined  the  family  of  nations.  Our  peo- 
ple in  the  United  States  knew  nothing  of  her  social  or  political 
condition.  We  had  never,  until  1853,  been  represented  there  by 
even  a  Consul.  I  should,  therefore,  under  all  circumstances,  with- 
out any  personal  feeling  toward  the  President,  and  without  refer- 
ence to  him  as  a  man,  have  deemed  it  as  much  my  duty  to  give 
the  result  of  my  observations  upon  the  political  state  of  the  coun- 
try as  I  should  upon  the  rocks  and  shoals  of  her  rivers.  I  be- 
lieve my  impressions  to  be  correct.  They  were  formed  without 
prejudice,  and  may  possibly  assist  us  in  directing  our  future  dip- 
lomatic and  commercial  relations  with  Paraguay. 

For  trade,  Paraguay  was  unoccupied  ground.  I  had  been  sent 
there  to  negotiate  a  commercial  treaty,  to  examine  her  rivers,  and 
report  upon  her  resources.  I  thought  at  the  time,  and  still  be- 
lieve, that  a  valuable  commerce  might  grow  up  with  the  United 
States.  For  manufactured  articles  it  must  be  for  many  years  a 
considerable  market. 

Again :  the  long-sought  and  much-desired  permission  of  Brazil 
to  explore  her  waters — the  result  of  a  negotiation  upon  the  part 
of  two  of  our  Ministers  for  eighteen  months — reached  me  in  the 
midst  of  these  (^fficulties.  My  future  labors  there  and  in  Bolivia 
I  had  contemplated  as  the  most  interesting,  and  the  most  fruitful 
in  results  for  science  and  commerce.  Paraguay  controlled  the 
entrance  into  their  rivers,  and  could  embarrass  my  anticipated 
movements.  I  had  every  reason,  official  and  personal,  to  use  for- 
bearance and  discretion ;  and  yet  President  Lopez,  in  his  dispatch 
to  our  government,  complains  of  the  hostile  attitude  I  assumed. 
The  position  of  the  President  is  perhaps  an  uneasy  one.  His 
people  know  nothing  of  other  countries.  He  governs  them  by 
maintaining  an  impenetrable  reserve,  and  impressing  them  with 
the  infallibility  of  his  own  acts  and  his  commanding  position 
among  "rulers."  He  forgot  that  the  members  of  the  American 
Company  were  not  Paraguayans,  and  that  I  was  the  representa- 
tive of  a  republic  where  there  are  no  "state  secrets."  He  could 
not  give  my  notes  to  a  third  party  for  translation.  They  were 
couched  in  respectful  but  decided  language ;  their  contents  would 


DECEEES  OF  LOPEZ.  281 

have  become  known  to  the  citizens ;  and  the  declaration  to  pur- 
sue a  certain  line  of  conduct,  "with  or  without  the  permission  of  the 
"supreme  government,"  was  an  assertion  of  independence,  even 
on  the  part  of  a  foreign  officer,  that  the  President  did  not  care 
should  be  known. 

I  have  been  as  concise  as  possible  in  the  foregoing  statement. 
It  unfortunately  led  to  a  radical  change  in  the  feelings  of  Presi- 
dent Lopez  toward  myself,  and  placed  me  in  a  position  of  antago- 
nism which,  as  will  be  seen,  I  carefully  endeavored  to  avoid.  His 
vials  of  wrath  seemed,  like  the  widow's  cruse,  inexhaustible.  On 
the  3d  of  October  he  issued  a  decree  designed  to  break  up  my 
intended  exploration  of  the  waters  of  Brazil  and  Bolivia,*  and, 
through  the  columns  of  his  organ,  the  /Seminario,  poured  forth  his 
indignation  in  language  marked  by  great  asperity — a  tone  and 
style  recognized  in  the  countries  of  La  Plata  as  peculiar  to  his 
Excellency. 

On  the  15th  of  October  Mr.  E.  C.  Buckalew  arrived  at  Corri- 
entes  in  a  river  steamer,  the  Buenos  Ayres.  He  was  bearer  of  the 
exchange  of  ratifications  of  the  treaty  of  the  4th  of  March,  nego- 
tiated by  Mr.  Pendleton,  and  ratified  by  the  Senate  of  the  United 
States.  He  also  brought  letters  from  the  Secretary  of  State,  Mr. 
Marcy,  instructing  me  to  propose  the  exchange.  The  treaties  ne- 
gotiated at  the  same  time  by  the  Ministers  of  France,  England, 
and  Sardinia  had  long  since  been  ratified,  and  their  consuls  for 
Asuncion  were  on  board  this  steamer. 

As  the  Water  Witch  was  excluded  from  entering  Paraguayan 
waters  by  the  decree  of  the  3d,  I  dispatched  Lieutenant  Mur- 
daugh  and  Doctor  Carter  by  the  Buenos  Ayres,  with  a  note  to 
the  Minister  of  Foreign  Relations  informing  him  that  I  was  com- 
missioned to  exchange  ratifications,  and  desiring  to  know  when 
and  where  I  should  meet  a  person  duly  authorized  to  act  on  the 
part  of  the  Government  of  Paraguay.  On  delivering  the  paper, 
Lieutenant  Murdaugh,  as  instructed,  informed  him  verbally  of 
its  contents.  He  received  the  following  reply,  with  my  note  re- 
turned.    I  insert  it  as  a  specimen  of  diplomatic  writing : 

*  The  following  is  a  translation  of  this  decree  : 

"  Article  1st.  In  the  navigation  of  the  rivers  of  the  republic,  foreign  vessels  of 
war  are  excluded. 

"2d.  The  exploration  of  the  rivers  of  upper  Paraguay,  which  are  embraced 
within  the  territory  of  the  republic,  or  of  other  neighboring  states,  can  not  be  made 
through  the  lower  Paraguay,  pending  the  settlement  of  limits  with  the  neighboring 
powers,  Brazil  and  Bolivia." 


282  STATEMENTS  OF  LOPEZ. 

[translation.] 

"Asuncion,  October  21st,  1854. 

"  Mr.  Thomas  J.  Page,  Commander  of  the  Water  Witch. 

*'  In  accordance  with  the  conditions  of  my  previous  dates  of  the  29th 

and  30th*  of  the  past,  I  return  you  your  note  dated  the  16th  of  October 

in  Corrientes,  written  in  English,  without  accompanying  it  with  a  signed 

translation ;  astonished  that  you  should  persist  in  your  idea  of  mortifying 

me. 

"  De  V.  L.  atento  servidor, 

(Signed)  "  JOSt  FALCON.' 

"When  we  remember  that  the  Spanish  Americans  are  scrupu- 
lonslj  observant  of  all  form  and  ceremonial  in  official  correspond- 
ence, the  quo  animo  which  dictated  the  above  note  is  manifest  on 
its  face.  It  does  not  concede  to  the  Water  Witch  her  nationality ; 
it  is  addressed  to  no  particular  place,  and  is  not  concluded  in  ac- 
cordance with  diplomatic  usage. 

Every  effort  on  my  part,  consistent  with  a  proper  consideration 
of  the  position  I  occupied,  to  effect  an  exchange  of  ratification 
having  been  made  without  success,  I  reported  the  result  to  the 
State  Department.  After  my  return  home,  Colonel  Eichard  Fitz- 
patrick  was  deputed  Special  Commissioner  to  Paraguay  for  the 
same  purpose,  but  failed  in  the  effort. 

President  Lopez  repeats,  in  his  message  to  the  Paraguay  Con- 
gress of  1857,  certain  statements  relative  to  the  part  I  took  in  the 
"  American  Company's  affair"  which  he  had  made  in  a  dispatch 
to  the  United  States  Government,  dated  October  3d,  1854. 

He  says,  in  alluding  to  passports  taken  out  by  the  Americans 
when  they  expected  to  leave  in  a  trading  vessel :  "  Commander 
Page  dashed  those  passports  into  the  office  of  the  Captain  of 
the  Port,  saying  that  Americans  had  no  occasion  to  carry  them."t 

I  neither  saw  the  passports  nor  gave  any  directions  about  them; 
and,  as  far  as  my  memory  serves  me,  I  heard  nothing  of  them. 
If  this  vulgar  and  unnecessary  exhibition  was  made  by  any 
American  it  never  came  to  my  knowledge,  or  it  would  have  re- 
ceived a  merited  rebuke. 

Again,  the  dispatch  says :  "  At  the  same  tune  he  ordered  the 

*  These  two  I  am  unable  to  insert,  as  they  were  returned,  in  retaliation  for  the 
treatment  my  previous  notes  had  received. 

t  "  El  Commandante  Page  hizo  arrojar  esas  pasaportes  en  la  Capitania  del 
'Puerto,  deciendo  no  las  necesitaban  para  llevar  Americanos." 


THE  MINISTER  OF  FOREIGN  RELATIONS.  283 

notes  of  the  Minister  of  Foreign  Eelatious  to  be  dashed  down 
with  the  passports."* 

I  have  before  stated  that  the  notes  alluded  to  were  given  to  an 
officer,  who  was  directed  to  deliver  them  to  the  Captain  of  the 
Port,  and  to  say  that  I  desired  no  longer  to  continue  communi- 
cations with  the  government,  as  my  notes  were  returned  unan- 
swered. And  should  the  Captain  of  the  Port  object  to  receive 
them — which  I  thought  probable,  judging  from  the  manner  of 
his  messenger  to  the  Water  AVitch — the  officer  was  directed  to 
place  them  on  his  table,  and  return.  This  officer  was  also  accom- 
panied by  the  captain's  clerk,  Mr.  Bushell,  who  spoke  the  Span- 
ish language.  I  can  not  believe  that  either  of  them  would  have 
been  guilty  of  so  great  a  breach  of  respect.  Whatever  might 
have  been  their  feelings  toward  President  Lopez  personally,  they 
perfectly  understood  the  respect  due  to  an  official  correspondence ; 
added  to  this,  I  believe  that  all  of  the  officers  of  the  Water  Witch 
entertained  the  most  friendly  feeling  toward  the  Port  Captain. 

I  have  alluded  to  our  final  departure  from  the  waters  of  Para- 
guay. In  referring  to  this,  the  Minister  of  Foreign  Eelations  says, 
in  his  dispatch  of  February  4th,  1855 :  "  It  is  known  throughout 
the  world,  f  the  surprising  departure  of  Senor  Commandante  Don 
Thomas  J.  Page,  who  left  highly  offended  and  irritated  at  the 
people:|:  of  Paraguay.  On  the  80th  of  September  last,  from  early 
dawn  of  the  day  there  was  evidence  of  fire  proceeding  from  the 
smoke-stack  of  the  steamer.  Her  guns  were  ordered  to  be  load- 
ed ;  and  being  asked  by  a  certain  stranger  relative  to  this  hostile 
preparation,  he  had  the  coolness  to  say  it  was  to  prevent  any  im- 
pediment to  the  departure  of  the  Americans  in  the  steamer.  Page 
knew  well  that  Hopkins  and  other  Americans  obtained  passports 
on  the  27th  of  the  aforesaid  September.  Hopkins,  in  addition  to 
his  passport,  took  out  a  permit  for  his  effects,  tobacco  and  cigars," 

In  giving  the  date  when  they  "  obtained  passports,"  why  should 
the  date  "  when  he  took  out  a  permit"  be  omitted  ?  Because,  if 
dated  at  all,  it  would  have  borne  that  of  the  day  on  which  the 
Americans  came  on  board ;  and  President  Lopez  thought  to  pre- 
serve his  prestige  intact  by  granting  permission  to  do  what  he  had 
failed  to  prevent. 

*  "  Tambien  mando  arrojar  con  las  pasaportes  las  notas  que  le  ha  despidido  el 
Ministro  de  Relaciones  Esteriores." 

t  What  an  extensive  circulation  he  imagines  the  Seminario  to  have ! 
X  He  is  mistaken :  he  should  have  said  government. 


284  LOPEZ  AND  FOREIGNERS. 

I  think  all  will  agree  with  me  that  such  inaccuracies  become  a 
national  insult  when  introduced  into  an  official  correspondence. 

If  the  government  of  the  United  States  desire  to  establish  and 
maintain  commercial  relations  with  Paraguay,  if  it  intend  that 
the  citizens  of  our  country  shall  peaceably  reside  there  in  carry- 
ing out  the  pursuits  of  trade,  shall  enjoy  the  privileges  and  im- 
munities usually  secured  to  foreigners  in  other  states  of  South 
America,  its  course  toward  that  republic  must  be  decided,  or  it 
should  abandon  the  idea  of  intercourse,  and  let  our  commercial 
community  understand  its  policy. 

The  respect  entertained  by  President  Lopez  for  any  foreign 
government  is  measured  by  the  estimate  he  attaches  to  its  power 
and  determination  to  enforce  its  just  rights.  This  opinion  is  not 
speculative.  It  is  based  upon  facts ;  upon  acts  of  that  govern- 
ment which  have  occurred  within  a  very  recent  date,  to  my  own 
knowledge.  Its  disregard  of  treaties,  contracts,  and  obligations, 
regarded  as  binding  in  honor  as  in  law,  is  established  by  numer- . 
ous  instances  of  bad  faith. 

A  treaty  was  signed,  without  due  consideration,  by  General 
Urquiza,  granting  to  Paraguay  the  exclusive  right  to  navigate 
the  Yermejo ;  but  when  submitted  to  the  Congress  of  the  Argen- 
tine Confederation,  it  was  rejected.  What  was  the  course  of 
President  Lopez  in  this  case?  The  rejection  of  the  treaty  ren- 
dered it  null  and  void,  and  one  would  suppose  that  the  question 
remained  in  statu  quo.  But,  instead  of  acting  on  this  principle, 
his  Excellency  claimed  the  power  which  a  ratification  would  have 
given  him,  and  closed  the  navigation  of  this  river  to  "all,  but 
especially  to  vessels  under  the  Argentine  flag."  This  is  his  mode 
of  treating  where  he  possesses  the  power. 

A  French  colony  was  brought  over  in  1854,  under  the  guaran- 
tee of  a  solemn  contract,  and  established — not,  as  its  deluded 
members  supposed,  in  Paraguay  proper — but  opposite,  in  the 
Chaco,  a  territory  in  dispute  between  Bolivia  and  Paraguay,  and 
actually  in  possession  of  the  aborigines.  Such  was  the  treatment 
of  these  foreigners  by  President  Lopez,  that  before  the  expiration 
of  one  year  they  broke  up,  and  many  of  them  escaped — not  by 
the  river,  for  the  vigilance  of  its  chain  of  guardias  is  not  easily 
eluded,  but  through  the  Chaco,  preferring  to  run  the  gauntlet  of 
Indians,  jaguars,  and  starvation  to  living  under  such  oppression.* 

*  France  has  a  treaty  of  friendship,  commerce,  and  navigation  concluded  with 
Paraguay,  and  has  a  resident  consul  at  Asuncion. 


PARAGUAY  AND  BRAZIL.  285 

In  1855  the  Emperor  of  Brazil  sent  a  squadron  of  eleven  men- 
of-war  and  as  many  transports,  all  well  appointed,  to  adjust  sev- 
eral questions  between  the  two  governments.  Among  the  most 
important  was  that  of  territorial  limits  and  the  right  of  way  to  the 
Brazilian  province  of  Matto  Grosso.  The  squadron  was  stopped 
at  Tres  Bocas ;  only  one  steamer,  the  Admiral's,  being  permitted 
to  ascend  to  Asuncion.  Negotiations  were  entered  into ;  some 
minor  points  were  settled ;  and  the  expedition  returned,  foiled  in 
its  main  object  by  the  superior  generalship  and  diplomacy  of  the 
President  of  Paraguay.  The  press  of  Brazil  and  the  Imperial 
Legislature  thundered  their  invectives  not  only  against  the  Para- 
guay government,  but  against  their  own,  for  the  failure.  What 
was  the  course  of  President  Lopez  ?  After  constructing  a  battery 
which  would  give  some  trouble  to  the  Brazilian  navy,  with  his 
usual  astute  diplomacy,  and  with  a  view  of  allaying  the  wounded 
feelings  of  his  neighbors,  and  to  lull  their  government  into  a  con- 
fiding belief  as  to  the  sincerity  of  his  motives,  he  dispatched  a 
minister  to  Rio  Janeiro  to  renew  negotiations. 

A  treaty  was  concluded,  granting  to  Brazil  the  right  to  navi- 
gate the  Paraguay  throughout,  and  reserving  the  question  of 
limits  for  future  adjustment.  The  Imperial  papers  were  full  of 
this  treaty ;  honors  were  showered  upon  the  successful  diplomat ; 
the  struggle  of  years  with  Rosas  and  with  Lopez  was  ended; 
Brazil  had  access  by  water  to  her  northwest  provinces,  and  ves- 
sels well  freighted  were  dispatched  to  Cuyaba.  But  what  is  the 
end  of  it  ?  Every  imaginable  obstacle  is  thrown  in  the  way  by 
the  government  of  Paraguay.  Vessels  are  unnecessarily  stopped 
at  guardias  and  towns ;  passports  are  vised  and  re-examined  at 
each  and  all ;  pilots  are  changed  and  cargoes  examined — involv- 
ing not  only  delay  but  expenses  not  anticipated.  The  treaty  from 
which  so  much  was  expected  turns  out  a  nullity.  Brazil  then 
sends  an  embassador  to  Asuncion  with  special  instructions  to  re- 
move all  difficulties.  What  is  the  result?  He  returns,  having 
effected  nothing.* 

And  yet  the  government  of  Paraguay  is  suffered  to  pursue  this 
course.  Well  may  the  President  imagine  himself  irresponsible, 
and  hnpress  upon  his  people  the  "  supremacy  of  the  republic." 
But  the  greatest  of  all  outrages  has  been  perpetrated  upon  our 
flag.     While  peacefully  pursuing  the  objects  of  the  expedition, 

*  Brazil,  with  certain  warlike  preparations,  subsequently  sent  a  minister  to  Para- 
guay, who  brought  that  government  to  terms. 


286  OUTRAGE  UPON  THE  WATER  WITCH. 

wlien  her  commander,  all  the  officers  (save  the  first  lieutenant  and 
engineers),  and  the  better  part  of  the  crew,  were  engaged  upon  a 
distant  work,  the  Water  Witch  was  wantonly  fired  into  from  the 
Port  of  Itapiru,  one  of  her  men  killed,  and  the  steamer  damaged. 
It  will  be  seen,  in  the  sequel,  that  the  vessel  was  in  neutral  wa- 
ters, and  engaged  only  in  the  legitimate  work  of  the  expedition. 
It  was  the  moment  to  give  Paraguay  a  spirited  rebuke  that  would 
have  been  remembered.  In  vain  I  sought  the  means  of  avenging 
the  outrage  without  possibility  of  failure ;  but  it  remained  un- 
noticed until  President  Buchanan,  in  his  first  annual  message, 
called  the  attention  of  Congress  to  our  relations  with  Paraguay, 
and  requested  that  means  should  be  placed  at  his  disposal  to  de- 
mand redress  for  the  insult  to  our  flag  and  for  the  wrongs  inflicted 
upon  American  citizens.* 

It  is  made  manifest  by  this  enumeration  of  offenses  that  the 
Argentine  States,  France,  Brazil,  and  the  United  States  have  tol- 

*  '  ',1  regret  to  inform  you  that  the  President  of  Paraguay  has  refused  to  ratify 
the  treaty  between  the  United  States  and  that  state  as.  amended  by  the  Senate,  the 
signature  of  which  was  mentioned  in  the  message  of  my  predecessor  to  Congress  at 
the  opening  of  its  session  in  December,  1853.  Tlie  reasons  assigned  for  this  refusal 
will  appear  in  the  correspondence  herewith  submitted. 

"  It  being  desirable  to  ascertain  the  fitness  of  the  river  La  Plata  and  its  tribu- 
taries for  navigation  by  steam,  the  United  States  steamer  Water  Witch  was  sent 
thither  for  that  purpose  in  1853.  This  enterprise  was  successfully  carried  on  until 
February,  1855,  when,  while  in  the  peaceful  prosecution  of  her  voyage  up  the  Pa- 
rana river,  the  steamer  was  fired  upon  by  a  Paraguayan  fort.  The  fire  was  re- 
turned ;  but  as  the  Water  Witch  was  of  small  force,  and  not  designed  for  offensive 
operations,  she  fetired  from  the  conflict.  The  pretext  upon  which  the  attack  was 
made  was  a  decree  of  the  President  of  Paraguay  of  October,  1854,  prohibiting  for- 
eign vessels  of  war  from  navigating  the  rivers  of  that  state.  As  Paraguay,  how- 
ever, was  the  owner  of  but  one  bank  of  the  river  of  that  name,  the  other  belonging 
to  Corrientes,  a  state  of  the  Argentine  Confederation,  the  right  of  its  government 
to  expect  that  such  a  decree  would  be  obeyed  can  not  be  acknowledged.  But 
the  Water  Witch  was  not,  properly  speaking,  a  vessel  of  war.  She  was  a  small 
steamer  engaged  in  a  scientific  enterprise  intended  for  the  advantage  of  commer- 
cial states  generally.  Under  these  circumstances  I  am  constrained  to  consider  the 
attack  upon  her  as  unjustifiable  and  as  calling  for  satisfaction  from  the  Paraguayan 
government. 

"Citizens  of  the  United  States  also,  who  were  established  in  business  in  Para- 
guay, have  had  their  property  seized  and  taken  from  them,  and  have  otherwise 
been  treated  by  the  authorities  in  an  insulting  and  arbitrary  manner  which  requires 
redress. 

"  A  demand  for  these  purposes  will  be  made  in  a  firm  but  conciliatory  spirit. 
This  will  the  more  probably  be  granted  if  the  Executive  shall  have  authority  to  use 
other  means  in  the  event  of  a  refusal.  This  is  accordingly  recommended." — Mes- 
sage. 


OUR  TRUE  POLICY.  287 

erated  indignities  and  wrongs  of  far  greater  magnitude  than  those 
which  have  often  been  the  cause  of  war.  We  must  at  least  ad- 
mire the  boldness  of  President  Lopez,  and  the  ability  which  char- 
acterizes his  diplomatic  course.  At  this  moment  he  invites  im- 
migration. His  offers  to  foreign  companies  wishing  to  engage  in 
industrial  and  commercial  enterprises  are  specious  and  plausible. 
I  believe  that  under  the  guarantee  of  treaties,  followed  by  able 
representation,  a  great  and  annually  increasing  trade  could  be 
established  with  all  the  interior  states  of  South  America,  even 
with  Paraguay.  But,  at  the  same  time,  a  strict  observance  of  the 
spirit  and  intent  as  well  as  of  the  letter  of  treaties  must  be  exact- 
ed. The  trimming  and  evasive  policy,  the  constant  effort  to  gain 
some  advantage  without  the  commission  of  open  and  avowed  acts, 
which  characterizes  the  course  of  the  Paraguay  government, 
should  be  arrested.  That  clause  in  treaties  which  secures  to  the 
resident  foreigner  the  privileges  and  immunities  extended  to  the 
natives  would  generally  throw  around  him  all  needed  guards 
against  oppression.  But  what  are  the  privileges  of  citizens  of 
Paraguay  ?  Isolated,  ignorant  of  the  political  or  even  geograph- 
ical divisions  of  the  world ;  unable  to  contrast  the  operations 
of  other  governments  with  their  own,  they  submissively  acquiesce, 
and  say  "  amen"  to  all  the  mandates  of  the  "  supreme  govern- 
ment." A  foreigner,  familiar  with  constitutional  laws  and  indi- 
vidual rights,  is  naturally  restive  in  Paraguay. 

But,  on  the  other  hand,  "  filibustering"  will  not  create  for  us, 
as  a  nation,  respect  in  the  South  American  Republics.  Neither 
will  it  promote  our  commercial  interests  nor  advance  civilization. 
The  most  brilliant  oratorical  efforts  in  our  National  Legislature 
upon  the  "  Monroe  doctrine"  will  be  unavaihng  if  we  fail  to  con- 
vince them  that  our  policy  is  genial  and  sympathetic.  It  is  easy 
to  have  our  flag  respected  without  making  it  suspected.  Among 
the  states  of  La  Plata  there  is  a  manifest  struggle  to  advance. 
The  course  of  Urquiza  toward  our  representative,  Mr.  Pendleton ; 
the  Constitution  of  the  Argentine  States,  modeled  upon  our  own ; 
the  dispatches  from  Bolivia,  show  that  they  look  for  political  sym- 
pathy, and  at  the  same  time  earnestly  desire  to  enter  into  com- 
mercial intercourse  with  us.  I  believe  that  President  Lopez,  from 
his  reception  of  our  expedition,  desires  it.  A  few  rebukes  and 
able  diplomatic  representation  will  soon  make  known  to  that  as- 
tute personage  the  terms  upon  which  it  can  be  maintained. 


288  LIEUTENANT  MUEDAUGH'S  EXPEDITION. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

Lieutenant  Powell  dispatched  to  Montevideo. — Mr.  Murdaugh  ordered  to  explore 
the  southern  and  western  parts  of  the  Province. — Extract  from  Journal  of  Lieu- 
tenant Murdaugh. — Cotton. — Saladas. — Sugar. — San  Roque. — Return  to  Bella 
Vista. — Goya. — Rincon  de  Soto. — A  Tour  in  the  Governor's  Galera. — A  Bivou- 
ac.—  Curuzu  Quatia. — Return. — River  Mirinay. —  Estancia  Bonpland. —  Res- 
taur acion. — Uruguayana. — Note  from  M.  Bonpland. — Imprisonment  of  the  Nat- 
uralist.— Tobacco. — Coffee. — Lagoon  of  Ybera. 

I  HOPED  that  nothing  more  would  or  could  break  in  upon  the 
legitimate  work  pf  the  expedition. 

Lieutenant  Powell  was  dispatched  to  Montevideo,  with  the 
Water  Witch,  for  money,  provisions,  and  ship-stores ;  Lieutenant 
Murdaugh  was  sent  to  make  a  detailed  survey  of  the  Pass  of  Bel- 
la Vista,  one  of  the  most  difficult  on  the  Parana ;  and  to  Acting 
Master  Henry  was  assigned  the  continuation  of  the  chart- work ; 
also  the  astronomical  and  meteorological  observations  at  Corri- 
entes. 

The  Meteorological  Journal  given  in  the  Appendix  will  show 
the  daily  state  of  the  weather,  but  I  quote  from  my  own  private 
journal  its  changes,  and  the  temperature  of  the  2d  December 
throughout  the  coolest  and  warmest  hours  of  the  day.  This  is 
the  first  summer  month,  and  although  the  day  selected  does  not 
exhibit  the  highest  rise  of  the  thermometer,  it  may  be  assumed  as 
one  of  the  hottest  of  that  climate,  and  as  showing  the  most  sudden 
changes  and  greatest  extremes  of  temperature. 

"  At  6  A.M.,  thermometer  80°  in  the  coolest  part  of  the  house ; 
at  9  A.M.,  in  the  patio,  where  there  is  a  free  circulation  of  air, 
it  stands  at  89°,  wet-bulb  79°  5' ;  clear  light  air  from  N.N.E. ;  op- 
pressively warm.  At  12  M.,  thermometer  92°,  wet-bulb  79°  5' ; 
partially  cloudy ;  wind  N.N.E,  At  12  45  P.M.,  a  few  drops  of 
rain,  cloudy ;  thermometer  90°  3',  wet-bulb  79°  5'.  At  2  P.M., 
showers  of  rain ;  wind  east.  At  4  P.M.,  thermometer  78°  5',  wet- 
bulb  73°  ;  cloudy ;  wind  S.S.E." 

After  completing  the  examination  of  the  Bella  Yista  Pass,  Mr. 
Murdaugh  was  sent  on  a  tour  through  the  southern  and  western 
part  of  the  province.  His  course  was  south  to  Goya ;  east  to  the 
Uruguay  River,  passing  through  Curuzu  Quatia;    north,  along 


TEAVELING  AND  TRANSPOKTATION.  289 

its  banks,  to  Eestauracion ;  and  tlience  to  San  Eoque,  on  liis  re- 
turn to  tlie  capital :  tlius  passing  through  the  finest  land  of  Corri- 
entes.  He  traveled  by  post — the  most  convenient  way  of  passing 
through  the  country,  notwithstanding  the  miserable  horses  usually 
found  at  the  postas.  By  paying  a  small  sum  extra,  good  ones, 
which  are  generally  the  private  property  of  the  master  of  the 
post,  can  be  had. 

I  quote  from  Mr,  Murdaugh's  journal : 

"  From  the  Kiachuelo  (about  nine  miles  from  the  capital)  to  the 
Arroyo  Empedrado,  the  country  is  flat,  with  considerable  wood- 
land in  patches.  These  are  happily  called  in  Spanish  islas  (isl- 
ands). The  road  good.  The  Emepedrado  is  now  about  two 
feet  deep,  but  at  times  it  is  not  fordable.  There  is  much  fine 
timber,  principally  quebracho,  on  its  banks,  but  it  is  never  trans- 
ported by  the  river. 

"  These  countries  have  an  extensive  system  of  natural  canaliza- 
tion in  the  riachos  (streams)  and  riachuelos  (rivulets)  that  course 
through  the  interior  provinces.  Yet  it  is  wonderful  to  observe 
how  carefully  they  are  avoided  as  means  of  transportation  or 
communication,  while  the  ox-wagon,  the  vehicle  of  centuries, 
moves  lazily  on — so  slowly  that  at  a  distance  an  observer  can 
scarcely  detect  its  movement ;  carrying  comparatively  little,  and 
consuming  time,  money,  and  labor  unnecessarily. 

"  About  five  miles  south  of  this  river  the  country  becomes  un- 
dulating, which  is  a  great  relief  to  the  monotony  of  the  pampas. 
At  the  distance  of  about  eight  miles  from  it  stands  the  Capilla  del 
Senor,  on  the  banks  of  the  Parana,  containing  about  500  inhabit- 
ants. At  the  port  were  several  vessels  loading  with  timber  (que- 
bracho), which  is  brought  from  about  eighteen  miles  in  the  inte- 
rior, in  ox-wagons  drawn  by  six  oxen,  with  a  relay  of  the  same 
number.  Each  wagon  carries  three  or  four  pieces  of  this  timber. 
Each  piece  is  eighteen  feet  in  length  and  nine  inches  square ;  three 
feet  of  which  weighs  one  hundred  pounds.  The  quality  of  the 
soil  is  much  better  than  that  generally  found  on  the  Parana. 
Considerable  quantities  of  sugar-cane  and  corn  are  cultivated. 
At  the  posta,  seven  miles  south  of  the  Capilla,  we  stopped  for  the 
night.  We  managed  to  get  a  couple  of  little  chickens  for  supper, 
and  room  enough  to  stretch  our  hammocks.  Fifteen  miles  south 
of  the  Capilla  we  passed  the  Arroyo  San  Lorenzo,  in  the  neigh- 
borhood of  which  the  scenery  is  the  finest  I  have  seen  in  the  prov- 
ince.    The  lands,  sloping  gradually  to  the  river,  remind  one  of 

19 


290  CULTIVATION  OF  COTTON. 

those  pretty  localities  about  Asuncion  del  Paraguay.  For  tlie 
same  distance  south  of  San  Lorenzo  the  scene  changes ;  the  coun- 
try is  rather  desolate,  and  so  continues  until  reaching  the  neigh- 
borhood of  Bella  Vista. 

"  Here  we  were  warmly  welcomed  by  our  friend  Mr.  Henry 
Hall,  one  of  an  English  firm  engaged  in  dry-goods  and  hardware 
trade.  This  little  town  has  the  prettiest  situation  on  the  Parana, 
and  bids  fair  to  become  a  place  of  consequence. 

"Corn,  tobacco,  and  sugar-cane  are  cultivated  more  extensively 
than  in  any  other  part  of  the  province.  Hides  and  timber  are 
shipped  from  here ;  the  latter  is  brought  from  a  distance  of  18 
to  36  miles  in  ox- wagons,  at  a  cost  of  20  cents  the  yard.  Our 
countryman,  Mr.  Yeatman,  is  struggling  hard  against  weeds, 
thistles,  want  of  labor,  etc.,  in  the  cultivation  of  cotton.  He  has 
been  at  work  for  a  year  and  a  half,  and  thus  far  has  failed  entire- 
ly. He  is  now  planting  American  cotton,  with  the  hope  of  better 
success.  He  intends  planting  every  year.  He  found  that  the 
perennial  plant,  after  it  has  attained  a  growth  of  a  year  or  more, 
deteriorates,  and  if  not  worked  the  annual  product  would  be  less 
and  less.  I  am  satisfied,  after  all  that  has  been  said  in  favor  of  it 
because  of  the  economy  of  labor,  that  the  cultivation  of  the  annual 
plant  would  prove  much  more  profitable,  notwithstanding  the 
necessary  yearly  preparation  of  the  ground.  The  best  yield  of  a 
perennial  plant  is  said  to  be  four  pounds  of  cotton  in  the  seed. 

"  Mr.  Yeatman's  selection  of  ground  was,  doubtless,  unfortunate; 
and  yet,  so  far  as  we  have  seen  and  heard,  cotton  is  a  product  to 
which  the  soil  of  Corrientes  is  well  adapted.  No  man  should  at- 
tempt its  cultivation  in  these  countries  without  first  securing  the 
necessary  labor,  for  it  is  not  to  be  had  on  an  emergency.  If  the 
work  could  be  done  by  a  gaucho  on  horseback,  there  would  be  no 
dif&culty.  All  inclosures  must  be  made  of  iron  wire,  there  being 
no  timber  in  the  province  suitable  for  such  a  purpose. 

"Outside  of  Bella  Vista  the  horizon  is  as  unbroken  as  that  at 
sea.  The  town  is  hid  among  orange-groves.  A  good  tree  here 
is  worth  several  dollars  per  annum;  so  that  any  one  who  has  a 
grove  of  a  thousand  trees  possesses  a  respectable  fortune.  Yet, 
because  they  do  not  pay  for  eight  years,  an  orange-grove  is  rarely 
seen,  save  on  the  estancia  of  some  foreigner. 

"  To  pass  through  the  little  town  of  Saladas,  we  had  to  retrace 
our  steps  nearly  to  the  San  Lorenzo.  At  the  posta  just  before 
reaching  the  town,  a  miserable  rancho,  the  wife  of  the  master  is  a 


SALADAS.— SAN  EOQUE.  291 

ridna — a  woman  witli  liglit  hair  and  eyes.  She  is  a  native-born 
lady ;  the  most  pleasing  woman  of  her  class  I  have  ever  met  with 
in  the  provinces.  She  never  allows  her  children  to  speak  Gua- 
rani,  and  always  addresses  them  in  Spanish — and  very  clear  and 
pretty  Spanish  it  is.  Children  of  the  pampas  will  mount  a  horse 
as  soon  as  they  are  able  to  walk ;  but  here  is  her  son,  a  boy  but 
four  years  of  age,  who  has  never  done  so.  He  shows  an  aversion 
to  horses,  and  insists  upon  being  a  sailor.  Living  fifteen  miles 
from  the  river,  I  doubt  very  much  if  he  ever  saw  a  vessel.  This 
looks  like  natural  adaptation.  His  mother's  opportunities  for  ac- 
quiring such  good  manners  were  not  superior  to  his  for  being  a 
sailor  in  embryo. 

"  Saladas  is  situated  amid  islas  of  wood  and  surrounded  by  ex- 
tensive lagoons,  with  fine  fertile  lands  between  them.  These  la- 
goons are  the  homes  of  innumerable  wild  fowl ;  and  the  land, 
where  cultivated,  produces  most  luxuriantly. 

"  Saladas  is  a  very  pretty  place,  containing  about  500  inhabit- 
ants, principally  employed  in  timber-cutting.  A  number  of  mag- 
nificent orange-trees  around  the  town  are  each  worth  $2  per  year. 
The  soil  is  well  adapted  to  corn  and  sugar-cane,  but  rather  wet 
for  cotton,  although  the  plant  is  said  to  bear  well  for  five  years, 
yielding  four  pounds  in  the  seed.  The  only  cultivation  is  a  little 
clearing  around  the  roots. 

"  The  making  of  sugar  here  would  be  a  very  profitable  busi- 
ness. Labor,  though  scarce,  may  be  had  at  four  dollars  the  month. 
There  is  not  a  pound  of  sugar  made  in  the  country.  All  the  de- 
mand is  supplied  with  the  most  indifferent  Brazilian,  at  prices 
that  would  pay  well.  Mr.  Hall,  in  Bella  Vista,  makes  molasses 
and  rum  of  all  the  cane  he  can  procure.  Here  is  a  fine  field  for 
immigration.  The  country  must  become  agricultural,  for  the 
scarcity  of  cattle  has  made  the  raising  of  them  in  certain  parts  of 
Corrientes  a  thing  that  was. 

"  Steam  saw-mills  also  should  pay  well  in  this  part  of  the  coun- 
try. The  large  trees  have  been  left  standing  because  of  the  difii- 
culty  in  their  transportation.  These  could  easily  be  reduced  to 
transportable  timber,  and  by  the  Santa  Lucia  Eiver,  distant  nine 
miles,  floated  into  the  Parana;  instead  of,  as  now,  carting  it  36 
miles  at  an  expense  of  20  cents  the  vara. 

"  Arrived  at  San  Eoque,  distant  from  Saladas  24  miles.  This 
village,  situated  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Santa  Lucia,  has  about 
300  inhabitants.     The  houses,  as  in  all  other  towns  of  its  size,  are 


292  BELLA  VISTA.— GOYA.— SANTA  LUCIA. 

built  of  adobe  or  of  a  net-work  of  poles,  plastered  and  white- 
washed both  inside  and  out;  the  roof  thatched  or  covered  with 
the  trunks  of  palms.  They  generally  have  corridors,  under  which 
are  the  sidewalks.  The  plaza  is  large  and  the  streets  are  narrow. 
I  am  told  that  at  the  lowest  state  of  the  river  the  Santa  Lucia  has 
four  feet  of  water  from  here  to  the  Parana,  with  a  current  of  one 
and  a  half  knots.  The  water  is  clear  and  limpid,  but  is  said  to 
be  a  little  brackish  when  the  river  is  low. 

"  The  commandante  told  me  that  about  three  months  past  cir- 
culars were  issued  to  all  the  commandantes,  that  in  case  of  a  visit 
from  Captain  Page  they  were  to  do  all  in  their  power  to  forward 
his  views." 

From  San  Roque  Mr.  Murdaugh  returned  to  Bella  Yista.  He 
found  the  country  between  the  two  places  very  much  intersected 
by  lagoons,  the  road  for  miles  in  extent  being  six  inches  under 
water.  There  was  very  little  cultivation,  and  it  is  altogether  a 
desolate  portion  of  the  province.     He  says : 

"Just  before  dark  the  postillion  got  so  far  ahead  that  I  lost 
sight  of  him,  and  for  an  hour  was  floundering  about  in  the  high 
grass  and  water  by  myself,  under  the  expectation  of  seeing  my 
horse  give  out  at  any  moment.  But  as  there  was  no  dry  spot,  I 
determined  to  ride  him  till  he  fell,  and  then  lie  upon  him  until 
he  should  get  up  again ;  or,  should  he  lie  so  long,  until  daylight. 
I  blessed  the  Spanish  race.  Three  hundred  years  have  these  peo- 
ple occupied  the  country,  and  not  one  hand's  turn  have  they  done 
toward  making  a  road.  I  managed  to  get  out,  fortunately,  where 
the  postillion  was  waiting  for  me.  My  remaining  wrath  was  ex- 
pended on  him.     We  reached  Bella  Vista  at  9  P.M. 

"  From  this  place  to  Goya — a  distance  of  54  miles — the  country 
presented  the  same  aspect :  flat  elevations  (lomas),  here  and  there 
a  house,  with  half  an  acre  under  cultivation  with  corn,  a  little  to- 
bacco, and  a  few  pumpkin  vines,  and  no  trees  save  a  few  umbus. 
The  post-horses  were  wretched.  I  hired  better  ones  from  the 
master  of  the  post.  At  49  miles  reached  the  town  of  Santa  Lucia, 
about  seven  miles  north  of  the  river  of  the  same  name.  It  is  one 
of  the  old  Jesuit  establishments,  and  has  the  best  church  I  have 
seen  in  the  province.  Five  leagues  to  Goya ;  hired  good  horses 
and  a  vaqueano  at  seven  paper  dollars  ($1  60).  In  crossing  the 
Santa  Lucia  River  (75  yards  wide,  current  1-|  knots)  the  water 
was  up  to  the  horses'  backs.  Two  and  a  half  leagues  to  Goya ; 
land  level,  with  espinilla  growth. 


GOVERNOR  PUJOL.  293 

"  Goya  is  a  thriving  place.  It  is  rapidly  overhauling  Corrientes 
and  will  soon  be  ahead  of  it.  A  large  quantity  of  cheese  and 
many  hides  are  shipped  from  here  for  Buenos  Ayres  and  Monte- 
video. Through  it  the  back  country  to  the  Uruguay  is  supplied 
with  all  its  necessaries.  Many  houses  are  better  than  those  of  the 
capital,  and  there  is  an  air  of  life  and  activity  that  is  refreshing  in 
such  a  backwood  country. 

"  Visited  the  governor,  Sefior  Don  Juan  Pujol,  who  is  spending 
a  few  days  here  in  his  tour  of  the  province.  He  is  a  man  of  easy 
and  pleasing  manners,  and  is  agreeable  in  conversation. 

"  The  Eincon  de  Soto,  a  commanding  promontory  just  above 
the  mouth  of  the  River  Santa  Lucia  and  on  the  Parana,  is  the  lo- 
cation selected  by  the  governor  for  the  establishment  of  the  colo- 
ny of  French  immigrants  who  are  e2:pected  to  arrive  soon  at 
Montevideo. 

"  On  Christmas  eve  we  went  at  midnight  with  two  senoritas  to 
the  '  Mass  of  the  Cocks'  {Mesa  da  las  GaUas),  and  on  Christmas 
night  we  attended  the  Club  Ball,  where  we  saw  many  very  pretty 
girls,  of  graceful  manners  and  dressed  in  good  taste. 

"Having  accepted  the  invitation  of  the  governor  to  accompany 
him  in  his  tour,  at  least  so  far  as  across  the  province  to  the  Uru- 
guay, we  took  our  seats  in  his  galera.  In  this  omnibus-like  equi- 
page were  four  of  us  inside — the  governor,  his  secretary,  Johnny 
Page,  and  myself.  We  were  drawn  by  six  horses  mounted  by 
gauchos,  with  attendants  on  horseback.  We  numbered  four  offi- 
cers, two  clerks,  thirty-six  soldiers,  and  three  servants.  Off  we 
dashed  at  half  speed,  trumpets  sounding,  sabres  clashing,  ladies 
waving  their  adieus  from  windows  and  balconies.  Each  soldier 
carries  a  carbine,  sword,  cartridge-box  with  twenty  rounds,  a 
valise,  and  any  quantity  of  nick-nacks  useful  on  a  journey.  At 
two  leagues  from  Groya  we  left  the  low  flat  lands  and  entered  upon 
the  lomas,  with  lagoons  and  palms.  Stopping  for  siesta  at  the 
estancia  of  Don  Jose  Fernandez,  we  partook  of  a  beautifully  pro- 
vided dinner,  which  was  concluded  with  a  draft  upon  the  gover- 
nor's cake  and  wine  from  the  locker  of  the  galera.  The  soldiers 
soon  had  a  fat  bullock  converted  into  asados,  round  a  blazing  fire, 
each  one  laying  in  store  a  ration  for  supper,  which  was  strung 
under  the  neck  of  his  horse. 

"  We  moved  on  after  the  refreshments  of  dinner  and  siesta,  and, 
passing  through  a  park-like  country  of  palms,  covered  with  fine 
fat  cattle  that  had  kept  the  grass  short,  we  were  overtaken  at  a 


294  RIDE  WITH  THE  GOVERNOE. 

ranclio  by  a  heavy  rain.  Here  we  stopped  for  the  night.  The 
governor  and  secretary  took  the  rancho,  running  the  risk  of  being 
not  a  little  annoyed ;  the  two  clerks  took  a  covered  cart,  while 
Johnny  and  myself  occupied  the  galera.  Each  soldier,  having 
picketed  his  horse,  procured  a  dry  hide,  and,  bending  it  into  a 
roof-like  shape,  crawled  in  for  protection  from  the  rain. 

"We  started  early  in  the  morning,  and  soon  reached  Corrientes 
Eiver,  over  which,  from  its  depth,  we  were  obliged  to  swim  the. 
horses,  and  transport  the  galera  on  canoes.  Trunks  of  palms  were 
passed  under  it,  resting  across  two  canoes,  one  on  either  side. 
Three  horses,  made  fast  to  it  by  'lassos'  from  their  tails,  were 
started  for  the  opposite  shore  by  about  twenty  soldiers,  who, 
swimming  and  shouting,  kept  them  in  the  proper  direction.  The 
river  here — the  Santilan  Pass — is  about  two  hundred  yards  wide, 
with  a  current  of  two  knots.  The  country  in  the  immediate  vi- 
cinity of  the  river  is  like  an  immense  sweet-potato  patch,  of  ant- 
hills from  two  to  three  feet  in  height,  which  greatly  impeded  our 
progress.  It  was  necessary  to  level  them  for  the  galera  to  pass. 
This  required  the  use  of  the  pick  axe,  so  hard  and  well-constructed 
are  these  dwellings  of  the  ant. 

"  Passing  this  '  Malisal,'  we  got  upon  a  fine  rolling  country,  in- 
tersected by  arroyos  and  skirted  by  espinillas.  The  soil  is  dark 
and  rich.  The  grass  here,  called  flechilla,  is  short,  with  a  stem 
bearing  seed  similar  to  oats.  The  governor  says  that  for  cattle  it 
is  superior  to  the  alfalfa,  and,  judging  from  the  appearance  of  the 
animals,  nothing  can  be  better.  This  grass  extends  to  the  Uru- 
guay. It  is  not  found  west  of  the  Corrientes,  nor  in  Paraguay. 
I  regretted  that  it  was  not  the  season  of  bearing  seed.  The  gov- 
ernor promised  to  have  some  of  it  gathered  for  our  collection." 

There  is  a  gradual  elevation  of  the  land  from  the  Corrientes  to 
Curuzu  Quatia,  from  whence  it  gently  descends  again  to  the  Uru- 
guay. This  is  certainly  the  most  valuable  part  of  the  province ; 
but,  like  most  others,  it  is  better  adapted  to  grazing  than  cultiva- 
tion. There  are,  however,  wide  fields  of  fine  lands  open  to  both. 
Cattle  are  now  selling  at  $10  the  head,  and  horses,  equal  to  any 
in  South  America,  at  $16  for  the  best.  Very  favorite  animals  at 
times  sell  for  as  much  as  $30.  Mares  are  valued  only  for  their 
hides  and  tallow,  and  sell  at  about  fifty  cents  per  head.  We  found 
rich  milk  through  the  country,  but  it  is  used  only  for  making 
cheese.  Mr.  Murdaugh  speaks  of  the  quality  of  beef  as  being  su- 
perior to  any  he  has  eaten  in  South  America. 


PARTING  WITH  THE  GOVERNOR.  295 

"Soldiers  had  been  sent  on  ahead;  and  on  our  arrival  at  the 
posta  we  found  a  fat  beeve  stripped  of  his  hide,  and  ready  for  the 
asado.  On  the  arrival  of  the  galera  the  troops  form  a  line  to  re- 
ceive the  governor  as  he  alights ;  and  at  the  sound  of  the  trumpet 
each  man  dismounts,  and  in  the  shortest  time  imaginable  his  horse 
is  divested  of  his  trappings,  and  let  loose.  Four  men  at  a  time 
enter  a  well-stocked  corral,  and  each  man  lassos  his  horse,  and 
pickets  him  outside  to  be  ready  for  the  morning.  The  soldiers 
then  collect  in  groups,  light  fires,  prepare  the  asados,  and  arrange 
the  beds  out  of  the  various  parts  belonging  to  the  recado.  All 
this,  mmgied  with  neighing  of  the  liberated  horses,  the  clatter  of 
those  in  the  corral,  and  the  shouts  of  the  men,  presents  a  lively 
and  exciting  scene,  to  the  enjoyment  of  which  the  savory  odor  of 
the  asado  adds  not  a  little. 

"  "We  reached  Curuzu  Quatia  in  the  afternoon  at  4  P.M.,  near 
which  the  governor  was  met  by  all  the  principal  men  of  the 
place,  and  escorted  into  town  under  salvos  of  fire-crackers,  rock- 
ets, ringing  of  bells,  etc.  Curuzu  Quatia  is  one  of  the  oldest 
Jesuit  stations.  It  has  been  several  times  destroyed  during  the 
civil  wars,  and  now  contains  not  more  than  two  hundred  inhabi- 
tants. 

"  Finding  that  the  governor  will  be  detained  here  longer  than 
he  anticipated  I  shall  be  constrained  to  leave  him,  and  shall  return 
to  the  capital,  coasting  a  short  distance  along  the  Uruguay,  leav- 
ing Johnny,*  at  the  earnest  solicitation  of  the  governor,  who  has 
taken  a  great  fancy  to  him.  How  far  in  advance  of  his  country- 
men generally  is  the  governor !  He  is  a  liberal,  intelligent  gen- 
tleman. His  politeness  and  kindness  during  our  short  journey 
together  will  not  soon  be  forgotten.  He  has  ordered  a  soldier  to 
accompany  me,  with  letters  to  the  different  commandantes  on  the 
route,  and  orders  that  I  shall  be  famished  with  the  best  horses. 

"  Set  out  January  1st,  1855,  for  Eestauracion,  via  Santa  Ana. 
At  ten  leagues  crossed  the  Eiver  Mirinay,  a  tributary  of  the  Uru- 
guay, and  taking  its  rise  in  the  Lake  Ibira.  Its  depth  is  four  feet, 
width  twenty-five  yards,  current  IJ  knots.  The  country  passed 
through  very  much  the  same.  At  sunset  stopped  at  the  estancia 
of  Mr.  Bonpland — the  former  companion  and  friend  of  Humboldt 

*  The  governor's  kindness  to  my  son  was  truly  paternal ;  he  presented  him  ^ith 
a  horse,  and,  while  indulging  him  in  every  roguish  amusement,  made  him  write 
Spanish  daily.  When  he  returned,  after  an  absence  of  some  weeks,  it  was  under 
the  protection  of  a  soldier ;  and  they  made  on  horseback  seventy- five  miles  in  one 
day ;  quite  a  ride  for  a  boy  of  thirteen,  who  complained  of  no  fatigue. 


296         RESTAUEACION.— ME.  BONPLAND, 

— and  was  warmly  welcomed  by  him.  The  governor  had  given 
me  a  letter  to  him.  His  conversation  was  exceedingly  interesting. 
He  talked  much  of  the  great  Humboldt  and  his  travels.  His  age 
is  eighty-two,  but  he  is  still  active ;  will  mount  a  horse,  and  ride 
twelve  to  fourteen  leagues  a  day ;  but  says  he  does  not  now  gal- 
lop. He  has  a  house  full  of  children  by  a  native  wife ;  possesses 
two  estancias — one  near  San  Boja,  in  Brazil,  well  stocked  with 
cattle  and  sheep.  He  takes  great  care  of  his  garden,  in  which 
he  has  growing  some  little  of  almost  every  thing,  even  to  the  tea 
plant.  The  soil  is  light.  Cotton,  he  says,  is  not  worth  cultivat- 
ing on  the  Uruguay ;  neither  is  the  land  east  of  the  Corrientes 
Eiver  adapted  to  it.  His  Irish  potatoes  are  very  good.  His  house 
is  situated  about  one  mile  from  the  right  bank  of  the  Uruguay. 

"He  accompanied  me  as  far  as  the  little  river  Santa  Ana,  on 
my  way  to  Restauracion.  He  had  received  Captain  Page's  invi- 
tation, and  expressed  a  strong  desire  to  be  with  us  in  an  explora- 
tion of  the  Upper  Parana.     ^ 

"Restauracion  is  a  thriving  little  town  of  500  inhabitants,  situ- 
ated on  the  right  bank  of  the  Uruguay,  which  at  this  point  is 
about  one  mile  wide,  six  to  eight  feet  deep,  current  1^  knots, 
banks  sixty  feet  high.  At  the  season  of  high  water  hides  and 
yerba  are  shipped  to  Buenos  Ayres  or  Montevideo,  and  merchan- 
dise is  brought  up  in  return,  for  the  northeast  part  of  the  prov- 
ince. The  fall  (salto)  between  this  place  and  Concordia,  below, 
can  be  passed  only  at  high  water.  There  are  a  number  of  vessels 
waiting  for  the  rise,  for  which  there  seems  to  be  no  invariable 
period. 

"  Just  opposite  is  the  town  of  Uruguayana  in  Brazil,  containing 
about  1500  souls.  The  houses  are  well  built,  very  superior  to 
those  in  Restauracion.  It  is  apparently  a  growing  place.  Wish- 
ing to  recross  the  river,  I  was  stopped  by  the  custom-house  offi- 
cers, and  told  that  it  was  after  the  hour  when  communication  with 
the  other  side  was  allowed.  On  going  to  the  commandante  and 
collector  they  both  promptly  issued  permission  for  me  to  cross. 

"  On  my  return  to  the  capital,  from  which  this  place  is  eighty 
leagues,  I  took  the  route  through  the  little  village  of  Mercedes — 
of  150  souls.  Crossed  the  Mirinay ;  depth  2|  feet,  rocky,  current 
stif)ng.  Made  72  miles — horses  bad;  and  passed  through  San 
Roque,  Saladas,  and  Capilla  del  Senor,  where  I  entered  the  road 
already  traveled.  The  Rio  Corrientes,  where  I  crossed  it,  was 
deep,  with  about  a  two-knot  current. 


LETTER  FROM  BONPLAND.  297 

"  The  country  through  which  I  had  passed  from  Eestauracion 
to  San  Eoque  is  very  much  the  same  as  that  already  spoken  of 
between  Goya  and  Curuzu  Quatia." 

On  reference  to  the  map  the  route  taken  by  Lieutenant  Mur- 
daugh  will  be  seen.  It  was  so  directed  as  to  embrace  different 
sections  of  the  province,  and  give  a  comprehensive  idea  as  to  their 
agricultural  and  pastoral  resources. 

It  will  be  observed  that  Mr.  Murdaugh  alludes  to  my  invitation 
to  Bonpland,  whose  presence  as  a  member  of  our  party  would 
have  been  a  pleasure,  and  a  great  privilege.  I  thought  he  would 
feel  some  interest  in  participating  in  our  explorations,  and  ad- 
dressed a  letter  asking  him  to  join  us,  and  go  over  again  for  a 
time  the  life  of  his  early  days.  He  now  (January,  1855,)  accepted 
the  invitation;  and  we  should  have  had  the  benefit  and  enjoy- 
ment of  his  company  but  for  the  occurrences  that  arrested  our 
work  on  the  Parana.  Driven  out  of  Paraguay  by  the  Dictator 
Francia — for  it  could  not  be  regarded  as  a  release — Mr.  Bonpland 
continued  to  reside  in  La  Plata ;  and,  being  now  over  eighty,  will 
probably  never  leave  the  country. 

I  subjoin  a  translation  of  Mr.  Bonpland's  letter  in  reply  to  my 
invitation  to  him  to  join  our  party  in  the  exploration  of  the  Pa- 
rara. 

"  Santa  Ana,  January  2d,  1855. 
"  To  Th.  J.  Page,  Commander  of  the  Steamer  Water  Witch : 

"  Sir, — I  must  appear  very  culpable  in  your  eyes  for  not  having  before 
answered  the  letter  you  did  me  the  honor  to  write  to  me  from  the  town  of 
Concepcion,  November,  1853.  Permit  me,  then,  to  state  some  circum- 
stances which  will  lessen  my  culpability. 

"  I  must  first  thank  you  for  your  obliging  offers ;  they  are  in  consonance 
with  my  wishes,  and  I  had  firmly  resolved  to  accept  them,  when  I  left  for 
Montevideo,  where  I  was  obliged  to  remain  for  a  few  days.  On  my  return 
to  San  Boja  I  intended  to  proceed  to  Paraguay,  and  avail  myself  of  your 
polite  invitation,  as  well  as  your  agreeable  society,  and  that  of  the  officers 
who  accompany  you. 

"  T\^hile  engaged  in  preparation  for  my  journey  a  report  reached  me  that 
you  were  not  in  Paraguay,  and  that  the  Water  Witch  was  commanded  by 
another  naval  officer. 

"  You  will  see  in  these  few  words,  Captain,  the  cause  of  my  silence,"  and 
the  suspension  of  my  journey  to  Paraguay. 

"Yesterday  evening  I  was  agreeably  surprised  by  Mr.  William  Henry 
Miirdaugh,  who  honored  me  by  a  visit  at  my  humble  cottage.     I  am  now 


298  FRANCIA  AND  BONPLAND. 

certain  that  you  command  the  Water  Witch,  and  that  you  propose  to 
ascend  the  Parana,  for  which  reasons  I  hasten  to  address  you  these  lines. 

"  From  your  invitation  and  the  conversation  I  have  had  with  Mr.  Mur- 
daugh  I  am  going  to  ask  the  consent  of  his  Excellency,  Governor  Pujol,  to 
accompany  you  in  the  Parana,  and  if,  as  I  hope,  he  shares  my  opinion,  I 
will  hasten  to  notify  you,  and  ask  beforehand  if  it  will  be  agreeable  to  you. 
During  fifteen  years  I  have  had  in  my  service  an  Indian  of  the  Guayana 
tribe,  who  has  ascended  the  Parana  above  '  Corpus,'  and  with  your  consent 
he  will  accompany  me,  and  he  will  perhaps  be  found  of  some  assistance. 
He  is  a  reliable  Indian,  faithful,  honest,  and  possessed  of  good  qualities. 
If  I  should  be  so  happy  as  to  accompany  you,  we  will,  I  hope,  be  able  to 
make  some  useful  collections  for  the  museum  of  your  inimitable  country. 

"  I  have  the  honor  to  salute  you.  Captain,  and  beg  you  to  accept  the  as- 
surance of  my  respect. 

"  Your  obliged  and  devoted  servant,         AMADifi  BONPLAND." 

Bonpland's  association  with  Humboldt  in  his  travels,  and  his 
detention  in  Paraguay,  are  facts  known  to  the  whole  scientific 
world. 

Sir  Woodbine  Parrish  mentions  that,  upon  his  arrival  at  Buenos 
Ayres,  in  1824,  in  applying  to  Francia  for  the  release  of  British 
detenues,  he  also  interested  himself  in  behalf  of  foreigners  whose 
governments  were  unrepresented  in  La  Plata.  Among  them  were 
Eengger  and  Longchamp,  but  above  all,  Bonpland,  who,  when 
residing  in  an  Argentine  state,  pursuing  his  botanic  studies,  had 
been  seized  and  carried  off  a  prisoner  by  an  armed  force  sent  for 
that  purpose  across  the  Parana.  He  was  residing  within  the  ter- 
ritory of  a  state  at  peace  with  Paraguay ;  but  he  was  cultivating 
the  yerba.  This  was  a  grievous  offense  to  the  dictator,  who  re- 
garded the  South  American  tea  as  his  peculiar  monopoly. 

After  a  time  the  naturalist  was  kept  as  a  prisoner  at  large; 
that  is,  restricted  to  a  few  leagues  around  the  town  of  Santa  Ma- 
ria, where,  with  the  philosophy  of  the  French  character,  and  un- 
daunted by  misfortune,  he  employed  himself  so  actively,  useful- 
ly, and  acceptably  to  the  simple  Paraguayans,  whose  condition 
he  endeavored  to  improve  and  ameliorate,  that  he  at  last  excited 
the  distrust  and  envy  of  the  dictator,  who  sent  him  out  of  the 
country,  as  summarily  as  he  had  been  made  a  prisoner,  after  a  de- 
tention of  nine  years.  Mr.  Grandsire,  the  special  agent  of  the  In- 
stitute of  France,  and  the  British  charge  d'affaires,  had  previously 
in  vain  sought  to  effect  his  release.  An  order  finally  came  from 
Asuncion  to  the  commandante  of  Santa  Maria  to  remove  him  ;  and* 


CORRIENTES.  299 

* 

on  the  same  night  he  was  placed  in  a  canoe,  paddled  across  the  Pa- 
rana to  Corrientes,  and  there  left,  with  nothing  but  a  few  clothes. 

We  find  that  he  is  again,  at  the  ripe  old  age  of  82,  actively  en- 
gaged in  agricultural  pursuits  in  Corrientes,  with  a  Spanish  Amer- 
ican wife,  and  a  large  family  of  children. 

Though  the  territory  of  Corrientes  comprises  an  extent,  from 
north  to  south,  of  nearly  five  hundred  miles,  with  more  or  less 
width  from  east  to  west,  its  population,  inclusive  of  that  of  the 
capital,  which  has  from  twelve  to  fifteen  thousand  inhabitants, 
does  not  probably  exceed  fifty  thousand  souls.  It  is  intersected 
by  several  navigable  rivers,  and  has  a  large  number  of  lakes.  Its 
lowlands,  as  well  as  the  lomas,  are  highly  fertile. 

The  city  of  Corrientes,  one  of  the  oldest  of  La  Plata,  founded 
in  1588,  soon  after  the  settlements  of  Buenos  Ayres  and  Santa 
Fe,  is  admirably  placed  near  the  confluence  of  the  Parana  and 
Paraguay,  and  about  seventy  miles  below  the  mouth  of  the  Ver- 
mejo.  It  is  the  principal  market  of  the  Chaco  Indians  for  furs. 
In  addition  to  the  resources  of  the  province,  which  would  un- 
doubtedly be  great  under  an  improved  system  of  culture,  it  has, 
by  the  rivers,  a  communication  with  the  eastern  and  western 
shores  of  Paraguay  and  the  western  borders  of  Brazil ;  by  the  Ver- 
mejo  with  Bolivia ;  and  again  south  by  Buenos  Ayres,  its  Atlantic 
outlet.  The  men  are  great  horsemen,  active  and  temperate,  but 
disinclined  to  work.  Inducements  are  held  out  to  immigration  ;* 
and,  under  the  present  Constitution  and  the  stimulus  to  trade  pro- 
duced by  the  opening  of  the  rivers,  it  offers  an  admirable  field  for 
enterprise  and  industry.  This  province  has  suffered  greatly  from 
the  civil  wars  that  have  distracted  the  country,  and  the  decrease 
of  cattle  is  enormous.  In  every  direction  we  noted  the  marks  of 
abandoned  estancias,  possessing  an  adaptability  for  grazing  and 
agriculture  apparent  to  the  most  casual  observer. 

With  careful  culture,  the  tobacco  will  probably  prove,  in  quan- 
tity and  quality,  quite  equal  to  that  of  Paraguay,  and  with  the 
introduction  of  agricultural  implements,  both  cotton  and  sugar 
may  be  grown  with  success.  Indigo  and  cochineal  have  been  ex- 
ported in  small  quantities,  and  a  new  species  of  the  former,  called 
"yuzo,"  was  some  years  since  made  known  by  Bonpland  as  an 
article  that  might  become  very  valuable  as  an  export.  I  have 
alluded  to  the  silk  of  a  small  black  spider,  a  specimen,  of  which  I 
collected  from  a  hedge  and  brought  home  with  me.     Bonpland 

*  See  Appendix  G. 


300  LAGOON  OF  YBERA. 

sent  some  of  it  to  France,  where  it  was  pronounced  unfit  for  man- 
ufacturing purposes ;  but  the  cocoons  of  another  spider,  some  of 
which  I  also  brought  home,  are,  from  their  appearance,  undoubt- 
edly equal  to  those  of  the  silk- worm,  which  they  resemble  in  form 
and  size.  They  are  spun  upon  the  orange-trees,  and  are  exactly 
the  color  of  its  ripe  fruit. 

As  an  experiment,  coffee  has  been  cultivated,  with  success.  I 
have  alluded  to  the  orange-groves.  The  fruit  is  not  equal  to  that 
of  Paraguay,  but  no  product  finds  a  readier  sale.  Parts  of  the 
province  are  well  timbered,  and  the  bark  of  the  curupay  is  con- 
sidered invaluable  in  tanning.  Under  the  present  system,  hides, 
tobacco,  timber,  for  Buenos  Ayres,  and  wool,  may  be  considered 
the  staples. 

The  most  extraordinary  physical  feature  of  this  province  is  the 
Lagoon  of  Ybera,  which  I  regretted  that  I  was  unable  to  examine. 
According  to  Azara,  it  is  fed  by  filtration  from  the  Parana ;  and 
yet  is  itself  the  source  of  four  consideralple  rivers — the  Mirinay, 
which  flows  into  the  Uruguay,  the  Santa  Lucia,  the  Bateles,  and 
Corrientes,  which  disembogue  into  the  Parana.  There  are  parts  of 
it,  inaccessible  either  to  boats  or  horsemen,  that  are  covered  with 
aquatic  plants,  and  even  considerable  trees.  It  was  Azara's  opin- 
ion that  the  Parana  itself  once  coursed  through  this  lake,  and  that 
it  will,  in  the  course  of  ages,  resume  its  ancient  channel. 

It  is  difficult  to  explain  the  origin  of  the  name  yhera  (brilliant 
water),*  handed  down  among  the  Guarani  race  from  the  remotest 
ages,  before  the  Conquest.  Some  convulsion  of  nature  may  have 
brought  to  its  present  marshy  state  what  was  once  a  beautiful  ex- 
panse of  water ;  or,  probably,  y-hera  may  yet  be  applied  in  no  in- 
appropriate sense  to  its  unexplored  interior.  D'Orbigny,  under 
extraordinary  difficulties,  though  at  a  dry  period,  forced  a  pas- 
sage some  distance  into  this  lagoon.  So  far  as  his  experience 
went,  he  discovered  it  to  be  not  so  much  one  monotonous  and  ex- 
tended marsh  as  a  succession  of  lagoons,  two  or  three  miles  in 
width,  which  seemed  to  have  a  uniformity  of  direction,  and  so 
confirmed,  in  some  degree,  the  suppositions  of  Azara.  The  depth 
of  water,  though  varying,  was  at  no  time  very  great,  until  reach- 
ing what  was  supposed  to  be  the  heart  of  the  lake.  "What  lies 
beyond  has  always  been  with  the  Indians  a  fruitful  subject  of  su- 
perstition and  marvel. 

*  y_« water;"  Jera— "brilliant." 


DINNER  AT  CORRIENTES.  gQl 


CHAPTER  XYII. 

The  Dinner  at  Corrientes. — The  Address. — Toasts  and  Wine. — A  Carp;o  o^  Lum- 
ber.— The  Saladero. — The  Water  Witch  dispatched  up  the  Parana. — Sudden 
Return  of  Lieutenant  Jeiters. — The  Steamer  run  aground  by  the  Pilot. — Fired 
into  from  the  Fort,  killing  the  Helmsman. — False  Claims  of  President  Lopez  to 
the  Channel. — Erroneous  Statements  and  Fancy  Sketches  of  the  President  of 
Paraguay. — Affection  for  the  Salto  Grande. — Dispatch  to  our  Government. — Its 
Contents  refuted. — Return  to  Buenos  Ayres. — Lieutenant  Powell  dispatched  to 
Rio. — Arrival  of  the  Savannah. — Indecision  of  the  Commodore. — Refusal  to 
grant  the  Guns. — United  States  Legation  versus  United  States  Squadron. — What 
should  have  been  done. — Dispatch  from  Seiior  Vasquez. — The  Commodore  im- 
pressed with  the  Fact  of  the  Parana  containing  sufficient  Depth  of  Water  to  ad- 
mit a  Sloop  of  War. 

Some  of  the  crew  asked  permission  to  give  a  "dinner  to  their 
foreign  friends,  principally  the  carpenters  of  Corrientes  who  had 
"been  engaged  in  the  repairs  of  the  small  steamer.  The  request 
was  of  course  granted,  and  a  busier,  happier  set  of  souls  can  not 
be  imagined  than  they  were  in  their  preparations  for  this  feast. 
Pantry  and  stores  were  thrown  open  to  them,  but  the  best  table- 
cloth the  steward  could  produce  was  not  equal  to  the  dimensions 
of  their  table,  which  was  set  in  the  patio  of  the  house  we  occu- 
pied, and  made  of  planking  designed  for  the  repairs  of  the  Pilco- 
mayo ;  but  some  yards  of  bleached  cotton  supplied  the  deficiency, 
and  the  purchase  of  a  few  glasses,  added  to  our  stock,  completed 
the  preparations.  By  their  own  arrangement  nothing  stronger 
than  wine  was  allowed,  and  a  bottle  or  two  from  my  nearly  ex- 
hausted supply  was  sent,  with  a  message  that  it  was  from  "home," 
for  none  like  sailors  on  foreign  stations  realize  the  magic  of  that 
word.  An  awning,  which  extended  over  nearly  the  whole  patio, 
excluded  the  sun,  and,  with  the  assistance  of  our  steward  and 
cook,  a  substantial  and  excellent  dinner  was  set  out,  not  even 
lacking  the  elegant  little  adornments  of  grander  occasions ;  for 
there  were  many  bouquets  of  the  prettiest  flowers  to  be  found  in 
the  city  of  Corrientes ;  and  the  American  flag — considered  an  in- 
dispensable decoration  in  all  foreign  entertainments— was  festoon- 
ed between  the  columns  of  the  patio  at  one  end  of  the  table,  while 
that  of  the  Argentine  Confederation  graced  the  other. 

Toward  the  close  of  the  dinner  a  deputation  came  and  invited 


302  PROGRESS  OF  TRADE. 

me  to  look  out  upon  the  party  in  their  enjoyment.  I  was  in 
doubt  as  to  the  object  of  this  call,  but  accepted  the  invitation, 
and  found  a  chair  ready  for  me  at  a  little  distance  from  the  table. 
One  of  the  company  moved  that  Mr.  Meredith  should  read  the 
address.  Mr.  Meredith,  a  lad  eighteen  or  nineteen  years  of  age, 
from  Baltimore,  rose  and  from  some  sheets  of  foolscap  read  a 
speech,  which  would  have  been  a  little  embarrassing — for,  like 
the  President  of  Paraguay  at  the  ball  of  the  Chief  Justice,  I  was 
obliged  to  listen  to  my  own  praises — had  I  not  been  so  much  as- 
tonished at  its  admirable  phraseology  and  style.  I  expressed 
gratification  at  seeing  them  thus  rationally  enjoying  themselves, 
and  retired.  Then  followed  songs,  toasts,  and  sentiments,  which 
were  unsparingly  served  out  with  wine  and  cigars. 

On  similar  occasions  in  "high  life,"  the  "proprieties"  could  not 
have  been  more  strictly  observed ;  and  there  were  "  sentiments" 
indicative  of  good  sense,  wit,  and  intelligence,  sometimes  lacking 
at  such  festivities. 

These  men  had  been  under  my  command  for  nearly  two  years, 
without  a  death  or  casualty.  Some  had  been  confided  to  me  as 
"hard  cases"  by  tearful  mothers,  who  had  always  known  a  grace- 
less "  Hal"  or  "  Bill"  to  mislead  their  Jack,  who  "  had  a  good 
heart,  but  would  be  led  astray ;"  and  a  "  man-of-war"  is  consid- 
ered an  asylum  for  all  such.  But  I  must  do  them  the  justice  to 
say  that  the  conduct  of  this  crew  had  been  highly  creditable,  and 
to  the  end  of  the  cruise — three  years  and  five  months — with  one 
or  two  exceptions,  all  that  could  be  desired. 

The  arrival  of  the  Water  Witch  from  Montevideo  now  expe- 
dited my  movements.  On  board  of  her  was  Lieutenant  Jeifers, 
who,  on  application  to  join  the  expedition,  had  been  ordered  by 
Commodore  Salter  to  report  to  me. 

One  fact  I  must  notice,  to  mark  the  progress  of  trade  since  the 
opening  of  the  rivers.  A  vessel  of  the  country  arrived  with  a 
small  lot  of  American  pine  boards  and  scantling,  which  was  sold 
at  12^-  cents  the  foot— the  price  I  paid  both  here  and  at  Asun- 
cion per  yard  for  sawing  plank  of  native  woods.  This  lumber 
had  been  shipped  to  Buenos  Ayres  from  the  United  States,  dis- 
posed of,  purchased  again,  and  re-shipped  to  Corrientes,  where  it 
sold  for  less  than  native  lumber,  paying  at  each  change  of  hands 
a  reasonable  percentage.  And  yet  timber  is  one  of  the  export 
articles  of  this  Province.  Quebracho  sells  here,  in  stocks  of  eight 
inches  square,  at  75  cents  to  87  cents  the  vara,  or  25  to  29  cents 


THE  SALADERO.  3O3 

the  foot.  The  operations  of  a  steam  saw-mill,  nearly  completed 
by  an  enterprising  Frenchman,  will  do  away  with  the  old  whip- 
saws  now  lining  the  beach. 

I  visited  the  saladero  (slaughter-house)  of  an  Englishman,  which 
was  just  opened  near  the  city,  on  the  banks  of  the  Parana,  to 
witness  the  operation  of  converting  cattle  into  jerked  beef,  hides, 
and  tallow.' 

Each  animal  is  brought  up  to  the  "bull-ring"  by  the  lasso, 
pierced  at  the  back  of  the  head  by  a  sharp-pointed  knife,  and 
rolled  off  on  a  rail-car,  to  be  skinned.  The  corral  was  large  and 
well  stocked,  Mr.  Hughes  having  a  few  days  before  purchased 
from  the  southern  part  of  the  province  a  fine  lot  of  cattle,  for 
which  he  paid  $9  the  head,  a  threefold  increase  in  price  within  a 
few  years.  In  the  Buenos  Ayres  market  the  hides  were  worth 
$6  50  each ;  the  jerked  beef — about  200  lbs.  to  the  animal — $12 ; 
and  the  tallow — from  25  to  50  lbs. — about  $3 ;  the  latter,  intes- 
tines, bones,  head,  and  feet,  are  thrown  into  immense  wooden 
vats,  and  subjected  for  some  time  to  steam  pressure,  which  ex- 
tracts nearly  every  particle  of  grease ;  it  is  then  drawn  off  clean 
and  put  in  hogsheads  ready  for  shipping.  The  refuse  of  the  vats 
is  used  for  fuel. 

On  the  30th  of  January,  the  Taquari,  a  Paraguay  steamer,  half 
man-of-war,  and  half  merchantman,  with  an  armament  of  five 
medium  32-pounders,  arrived  at  Corrientes ;  she  received  from 
the  Water  Witch  the  usual  official  visit  and  offer  of  service. 
This  vessel  was  built  in  England,  and  purchased  by  General  Lo- 
pez, son  of  the  President,  who  had  been  on  a  general  mission  to 
several  of  the  European  Courts,  and  was  now  on  his  return  to 
Asuncion,  having  crossed  the  Atlantic  in  her. 

Hoping  that  the  alterations  in  the  small  steamer  would  make 
her  suitable  for  the  exploration  of  the  Salado,  and  intending  to 
form  there  two  parties,  I  detailed  for  the  service  all  the  surveying 
officers,  with  the  exception  of  Lieutenant  Jeffers.  He  was  left  in 
charge  of  the  Water  Witch,  with  instructions  to  ascend  the  Para- 
na so  far  as  the  island  Apipe,  a  distance  of  over  one  hundred 
miles  from  its  juncture  with  the  Paraguay,  at  which  point  there 
were  supposed  to  be  rapids — ^the  first  obstruction  met  with  from 
the  Capes  of  La  Plata.  Lieutenant  Jeffers  was  instructed  to  de- 
termine their  character.  This  short  work,  of  a  hundred  miles  or 
more,  I  felt  assured  could  be  accomplished  before  my  return. 

With  Lieutenants  Powell,  Murdaugh,  and  Henry,  Assistant 


304  ATTACK  UPON  THE  WATER  WITCH. 

Surgeon  Carter,  Assistant  Engineer  Stump,  and  eigliteen  men,  I 
left  Corrientes  on  the  81st  of  January,  1855,  for  tlie  Salado,  ex- 
pecting to  encounter,  from  all  I  could  learn,  numerous  inhospi- 
table and  daring  bands  of  Indians.  The  performance  of  the  Pilco- 
majo  was  miserable — worse  than  before  the  alterations  were  made 
in  her.  She  -was,  in  fact,  worthless.  This  I  had  feared,  and  con- 
sidered possible,  and,  as  a  reserve  for  surveying  purposes,  I  had 
in  tow  two  metallic  boats.  But  I  was  not  prepared  for  the  new 
troubles  that  were  brewing.  The  vials  of  President  Lopez  were 
not  exhausted. 

On  the  3d  of  February,  when  we  were  about  two  handred  miles 
below  Corrientes,  the  Water  Witch  hove  in  sight.  What  could 
be  the  matter?  Speculation  ran  wild  in  our  little  boat.  The 
suspense  was  soon  over. 

The  Water  Witch  had  been  stopped  in  her  ascent  of  the  Pa- 
rana ;  fired  into  from  the  Fort  of  Itapiru ;  the  man  at  the  helm 
killed,  and  the  steamer  slightly  damaged  in  her  hull.  My  feel- 
ings may  be  imagined  at  this  outrage  to  our  flag,  while  borne  by 
a  vessel  under  my  command ;  for  absence  from  her  made  me  not 
less  sensible  to  the  insult.  In  a  few  words  the  tale  was  told. 
For  a  particular  account  of  it,  I  append  Lieutenant  Jeffers's  official 
report.* 

The  steamer  had  a  native  pilot  on  board,  who  was  as  well  ac- 
quainted with  the  river  as  the  wood-cutters  of  Apipe,  or  the 
orange-dealers  along  the  shores  of  Corrientes  usually  are.  Lieu- 
tenant Jefiers  had  advanced  but  a  short  distance  above  the  junc- 
tion of  the  Parana  and  Paraguay,  plotting  the  work  as  he  pro- 
gressed, when,  from  very  deep  water,  the  vessel  was  run  upon  a 
sand-bank  in  six  feet  water,  the  lead  at  the  gangway  indicating 
no  material  change  in  the  depth.  While  in  the  act  of  getting  the 
steamer  afloat,  a  boat  came  alongside  from  a  fort  on  the  Paraguay 
shore,  where  was  a  flag-staif,  but  no  flag  flying,  and  presented  a 
paper  to  Lieutenant  Jeffers,  who  returned  it  to  the  messenger,  in- 
forming him  that  he  did  not  read  Spanish.  This,  with  the  sub- 
stitution of  the  word  "Spanish"  for  "English,"  was  President 
Lopez's  reply  to  my  communication  in  behalf  of  Americans  in 
Asuncion. 

He  observed  some  bustle  and  activity  at  the  fort,  and,  to  be 
prepared  for  any  emergency,  put  the  vessel  in  the  best  state  of 
defense  he  could,  but  scarcely  admitting  even  to  himself  the  pos- 
sibility of  attack. 

*  See  Appendix  H. 


iii|i|lili|y],,ili|l!iii*^^^  r^    1,1,11,  i,r 

I'll"  III  iiiiiii  I  1 1  I  Pii''     ^         ' 


ATTACK  UPON  THE  WATER  WITCH.  307 

She  was  got  afloat,  and  on  asking  the  pilot  where  lay  the  chan- 
nel, he  unhesitatingly  said  that  it  was  near  the  Paraguay  shore ; 
but  he  had  supposed  the  river  high  enough  to  enable  the  Water 
Witch  to  pass  over  the  shoals  near  the  left  bank,  and  made  the 
attempt  without  informing  the  commanding  officer. 

The  pilot,  like  many  other  Argentines  of  the  same  class,  looked 
upon  Paraguay  as  a  semi-civilized  country,  and  was  anxious  to 
put  a  great  distance  between  the  Water  Witch  and  Fort  Itapiru. 
He  was  ordered  to  change  the  course  of  the  vessel,  and  the  nature 
of  the  work  was  again  intelligibly  explained  to  him,  that  he  might 
understand  the  importance  of  keeping  her  in  mid-channel,  regard- 
less of  its  vicinity  to  the  Paraguay  shore,  or  whether  or  not  there 
was  water  enough  outside  of  it. 

I  beg  to  call  especial  attention  to  the  two  drawings  of  the  river 
at  this  point — the  fancy  sketch  sent  by  President  Lopez  to  our 
government  and  one  from  the  actual  survey.  I  do  not  hesitate 
to  assert  that  they  never  would  be  recognized  as  representing  the 
same  locality.  When  the  Water  Witch  was  within  close  shot, 
two  or  three  blank  cartridges  were  fired  from  the  fort  in  quick 
succession,  followed  by  a  shot.  At  what  part  of  the  vessel  it  was 
aimed  I  can  only  judge  from  President  Lopez's  dispatch  to  our 
State  Department,  where  he  magnanimously  says  it  was  directed 
so  as  to  "pass  ahead,"  If  so,  it  struck  wide  of  the  mark,  and 
was  unfortunately  effective ;  for  it  passed  through  the  after  port, 
cut  away  the  wheel,  and  killed  the  helmsman.  Lieutenant  Jeflfers 
had  disregarded  the  blank  cartridges,  and  up  to  this  time  had 
withheld  his  fire.  Indeed,  his  means  of  defense,  with  three  how- 
itzers— one  24-pounder  and  two  12-pounders — were  small  against 
a  brick  or  stone  fort.  But  when  this  shot  came,  he  returned  it  as 
rapidly  as  the  reduced  number  of  officers  and  crew  and  the  dis- 
abled condition  of  the  helm  would  admit.  The  accuracy  of  the 
fire  was  seen  in  cutting  away  the  flag-staff  and  in  the  shrapneU 
grazing  the  .low  wall ;  for  the  guns  were  mounted  en  barbette.  We 
learned  afterward  that  several  Paraguayans  were  killed ;  some 
reports  said  eleven,  others  fifteen.  The  Water  Witch  was  struck 
ten  times,  but  the  first  was  the  only  shot  that  did  any  execution, 
though  we  learned  that  the  firing  from  the  fort  was  directed  by  a 
person  formerly  of  the  French  navy,  who  had  entered  the  service 
of  Paraguay. 

The   pilot,  very  much   alarmed,  ran  below ;    and  during  the 
shipping  of  the  spare  tiUer  the  steamer  drifted  with  the  current 


308  TRUE  AND  FANCY  SKETCHES. 

to  the  edge  of  the  narrow  channel  into  ten  feet  water.  When 
hauled  upon  deck,  he  declared  she  would  be  aground  if  the  at- 
tempt to  proceed  were  persevered  in,  and  insisted  upon  backing 
her  down. 

She  had  by  this  time  passed  all  but  one  of  the  six  guns,  and 
would  soon  have  been  out  of  range,  but,  in  backing,  was  again 
exposed  to  the  fire  of  the  fort. 

My  first  feeling  of  regret  was  that  I  had  not,  with  the  full  com- 
plement of  of&cers  and  crew,  undertaken  this  corner  of  the  work. 
Had  it  been  so,  this  affair  would  never  have  taken  place  ;  for  the 
detachment  of  officers  and  men  from  the  Water  Witch  was 
doubtless  as  well  known  in  Paraguay  as  to  myself,  and  this  hos- 
tile proceeding  explained  what  had,  I  confess,  claimed  but  a 
passing  notice.  For  a  day  or  two  before  our  departure,  a  small 
Paraguay  boat  had  been  hovering  about  Corrientes,  and  as  the 
Pilcomayo  steamed  off,  this  little  craft  passed  close  to  us,  and 
pulled  rapidly  up  the  river.  She  was  doubtless  a  spy,  and  gave 
immediate  information  as  to  the  division  of  our  party. 

That  this  outrage  may  appear  in  its  true  light,  it  must  be  borne 
in  mind  that  the  decree  of  the  3d  of  October,  1854,  can  not  pos- 
sibly be  made  to  include  those  waters  in  which  the  Water  Witch 
was  when  she  was  fired  into.  Indeed,  no  part  of  the  Eiver  Pa- 
rana is  exclusively  under  the  jurisdiction  of  Paraguay ;  and  up  to 
the  fort  Itapiru,  and  for  one  or  two  hundred  miles  beyond,  that 
river  is  the  common  boundary  between  the  Argentine  Confedera- 
tion (on  the  northern  border  of  Corrientes)  and  Paraguay.  The 
insult  in  itself  is  one  that  can  not  be  tolerated ;  it  is,  however, 
eclipsed  by  the  fraud  which  President  Lopez  attempts  to  impose 
upon  the  public  through  the  columns  of  the  Seminario^  but,  above 
all,  in  a  dispatch  to  the  United  States  government,  inclosing  a 
fancy  sketch  of  the  river,  fort,  and  environs,  representing  the  shots 
fired  in  defense  by  the  Water  Witch,  after  her  helmsman  was 
killed,  as  a  hostile  movement  against  the  fort,  and  gravely  re- 
quests that  the  officers  in  charge  may  be  "  severely  punished.''^ 

On  the  opposite  page  is  a  reduced  copy  of  this  sketch  made  by 
the  order  of  President  Lopez,  and  a  true  sketch  of  the  Eiver 
Parana,  near  the  mouth  of  the  Paraguay,  from  the  chart  of  the 
Water  Witch.  The  "  fancy  sketch"  here  offered  is  doubtless  the 
work  of  a  foreigner ;  for  there  is,  I  presume,  not  a  native  capable 
of  making  such  a  one,  either  from  a  survey  or  dictation  ;  it  was 
probably  drawn  by  the  ordnance  officer  of  Itapiru,  who,  however 


FANCY  AND  TRUE  SKETCH. 


309 


El  Canal  esclusivo  del  Campamento  general  del  Passo  de  la  Patria 
pertenece  de  costa  a  costa  a  la  Repubbca,  y  cubre  el  Camparnento,  su 
^    transito  estd  prohebido  aun  a  los  Buques  mercantes  Nacionales. 


I 

I 


4    r>     ^'y^m 


Ay 


Txue  North. 


"fe. 


310  JURISDICTION  OF  THE  PARANA. 

skillful  lie  may  be  in  directing  sliot,  shows  that  he  knows  little  of 
hydrographic  surveys.  The  President  did  not  care  to  represent 
Nature's  work,  but  to  illustrate  an  Idea ;  and  from  his  office,  far 
removed  from  the  scene,  he  dictated  to  the  pliant  draughtsman  a 
drawing  of  a  winding  river,  in  which  he  was  directed  to  intro- 
duce certain  banks  and  shpals,  until  the  "fancy  sketch"  repre- 
sented a  locality  to  suit  the  "  Idea"  he  intended  to  present  to  the 
United  States.  But  his  Excellency,  though  an  admirable  diplo- 
matist, is  unfortunately  as  ignorant  as  his  draughtsman  of  the 
first  principles  of  hydrography.  He  neglects  to  put  down  the 
soundings,  to  run  the  line  of  the  "Water  Witch  aground  on  sand- 
banks instead  of  ending  it  in  water  of  unknown  depth,  or  to 
show  how  he  has  arrived  at  the  peculiar  obstructions  of  the  Pa- 
rana at  that  part  of  its  course. 

In  continuing  the  exploration  of  that  river,  I  do  not  suppose  the 
idea  had  ever  suggested  itself  to  any  human  being  out  of  Para- 
guay that  the  Water  Witch  would  meet  with  the  least  opposition. 
However  defiant  the  policy  of  that  government  to  neighboring 
powers,  even  in  Corrientes,  it  was  not  suspected  of  the  monstrous 
pretension  of  controlling  exclusively  the  navigation  of  the  Parana. 
Our  expedition  had  not  only  the  sympathy  of  the  Argentine  Con- 
federation, which  claims  concurrent  jurisdiction  over  it,  but  I  had 
a  circular  from  General  Urquiza  to  all  persons  in  authority,  di- 
recting them  to  offer  me  every  facility  in  prosecuting  the  work ; 
and  from  Senor  Pujol,  the  governor  of  Corrientes,  I  had  received 
only  the  day  before  my  departure,  expressions  of  deep  interest  in 
our  labors,  and  the  anxious  hope  that  the  exploration  would  de- 
velop a  channel  practicable  for  all  purposes  of  commerce,  with- 
out making  the  slightest  reference  to  the  decree  of  October  3d,  or 
to  the  possibility  of  Paraguayan  interference. 

As  I  had,  then,  the  full  permission  of  the  Argentine  States  to 
explore  her  waters,  and  the  Parana  was  established  and  recognized 
as  the  common  boundary  between  their  territory  and  Paraguay, 
up  to  and  beyond  the  Falls  of  Apipe,  the  propriety  of  my  course 
in  ordering  a  party  from  the  expedition  there  will  not  admit  of 
question. 

I  had  on  former  occasions  repeated  conversations  with  President 
Lopez  relative  to  our  contemplated  explorations  in  that  quarter, 
but  he  never  let  drop  the  semblance  of  pretension  to  control  or 
prohibit  its  navigation.  He  did  on  one  occasion  congratulate  "the 
Eepublic"  (for  he  is  fond  of  using  that  word  in  speaking  of  Para- 


PRESIDENT  LOPEZ'S  ACCOUNT.  gn 

guay)  that  tlie  "  Salto  Grande"  (Falls  of  Guayra)  was  an  insur- 
mountable obstruction  to  the  navigation  of  the  river;  and,  as  it 
was  the  first  time  that  I  had  ever  heard  the  idea  advanced  that  an 
insurmountable  obstacle  to  the  navigation  of  a  great  river  was 
a  national  blessing  designed  by  Heaven,  it  made  an  impression 
upon  me.  I  knew  that  he  alluded  to  the  much-feared  encroach- 
ments of  "Los  Portugases,"  and  looted  to  the  Salto  Grande  as  a 
bulwark  against  all  attacks  from  that  quarter. 

As  he  does  not  presume  to  assert  any  entire  jurisdiction  over 
the  river,  it  will  naturally  be  asked  on  what  grounds  does  he  jus- 
tify his  act  of  firing  into  the  Water  Witch ;  for  he  admits  that  it 
was  by  his  orders  to  the  commander  of  Itapiru. 

He  says  in  his  dispatch  to  our  government,  and  in  his  message 
to  the  Congress  of  Paraguay, 

"  The  Water  Witch  ascended  the  Parana  by  the  channel  that  is  common 
to  the  Republic  and  the  Argentine  Confederation ;  but,  having  stopped  al- 
most in  front  of  Fort  Itapiru,  the  commander  observed  that  from  that  point 
the  Americans  seemed  occupied  in  taking  some  measurements,  and  then  pro- 
ceeded on,  through  the  same  common  channel,  to  beyond  the  general  en- 
campment at  the  Paso  de  la  Patria,  and  nearly  to  the  upper  point  of  the 
Island  '  Ceraya,'  whence  she  returned  through  the  same  channel,  passing 
below  Itapiru,  and,  turning  the  point  of  the  south  bank,  which  here  exists, 
took  that  which  leads  directly  by  the  Fort  Itapiru  to  the  port  of  the  gen- 
eral encampment,"  etc.* 

This  explanation  answered  his  purpose  perfectly  in  Paraguay, 
for  he  wished  to  prove  that  the  Water  Witch  was  seeking  the 
Fort  Itapiru,  and  not  the  main  channel  of  the  river ;  that  she  was 
bound  on  a  fighting,  and  not  an  exploring  expedition ;  but  he 
should  have  made  out  a  stronger  case ;  should  have  added  a  few 
more  operations — it  matters  not  what — to  complete  the  romance. 
His  after-mistake  was  a  great  one,  in  repeating  the  same  state- 
ments to  the  Government  of  the  United  States. 

It  is  needless  to  explain  that  the  value  of  a  survey  depends 

*  Extract  from  President  Lopez's  Message,  14th  March,  18r)7. 

"El  1  de  Febrero  de  1855,  predicho  Vapor  Water  Witch  subio  al  Parana  por  el 
Canal  comun  de  la  Republica  y  de  la  Confederacion  Argentina,  pero  habiendose 
detenido  casi  en  fronte  de  la  fortaleza  de  Itapiru,  observa  el  Commandante  de  ese 
puerto  que  los  Americanos  paracien  ocuparse  en  tomar  algunas  dimenciones,  y  lue- 
go  seguieron  por  el  mismo  canal  comun  hasta  mas  ariba  del  campamento  general 
del  paso  de  la  Patria,  y  casi  hasta  la  punta  superior  de  la  Isla  de  Carya,  de  donde 
vulvio  a  bajar  por  el  mismo  canal  hasta  mas  abajo  de  Itapiru,  y  volviendo  la  punta 
de  arena  del  banco  qui  alii  existe,  tomo  el  que  conduce  por  la  misma  fortaleza  de 
Itapiru  al  puerto  del  espresado  campamento  general." 


312  ATTEMPTED  JUSTIFICATION. 

upon  its  accuracy,  and  the  course,  depth,  current  of  the  Parana 
channel  could  alone  be  determined  by  the  Water  Witch's  enter- 
ing it.  She  had  a  pilot  who  attempted  to  pass  up  near  the  Cor- 
rientes  shore,  in  what  President  Lopez  designates  as  the  Canal 
Comun  ("  Common  Channel"),  and  there  ran  aground.  Is  it  rea- 
sonable to  suppose  that,  had  there  been  a  channel  on  that  side,  the 
frightened  pilot  would  have  sought  the  other,  of  which  he  seems 
to  have  had  a  great  dread?  and  when  asked  "  where  lay  the  main 
channel,"  would  he  immediately  have  pointed  to  that  which  led 
to  the  "  General  Encampment,"  instead  of  the  Canal  Comiin? 

Suppose  there  had  been  more  than  one  channel — and  the  pilot, 
who  should  have  known,  said  there  was  not,  for  he  certainly 
made  the  effort  to  find  another  way — how  would  this  have  justi- 
fied the  attack  ?  If  the  river  is  a  common  highway  for  the  two 
countries,  the  whole  of  it  is  common  throughout  the  extent  of  the 
territories.  It  is  not  a  highway  if  President  Lopez  appropriate 
the  available  channel,  where  alone  a  vessel  can  pass  up,  and  say, 
"  You  shall  not  come  on  my  side  of  the  river," 

As  to  the  actual  course  and  distance  made  by  the  Water  Witch, 
the  accompanying  "  real  sketch"  will  show ;  and  until  informed 
upon  what  data  President  Lopez  constructed  his  chart,  or  until 
he  produces  the  observations  made  by  his  surveyor  on  shore,  to 
determine  the  track  of  the  Water  Witch,  and  establish  beyond 
doubt  the  superior  accuracy  of  his  work  to  ours  by  a  fair  com- 
parison, I  must  pronounce  one  a  "fancy  sketch,"  the  other  a  re- 
liable piece  of  "track  survey." 

The  President  of  Paraguay  was  evidently  alarmed  in  anticipa- 
tion of  retaliation  for  this  insult,  and  thundered  forth  in  his  little 
weekly  organ,  the  Seminario.  Its  articles,  intended  to  impose 
upon  the  credulity  of  Paraguayans,  generally  excite  much  amuse- 
ment in  La  Plata.  Personal  attacks  upon  myself — the  burden 
of  its  editorials  since  the  removal  of  the  Americans — I  did  not 
notice,  for  I  rather  suspected  that  his  Excellency  wished  to  draw 
me  into  a  paper  war.  But  when,  awakened  to  a  sense  of  the 
enormity  of  his  act,  as  one  utterly  in  defiance  of  the  law  of  na- 
tions, he  attempted  its  justification  by  boldly  claiming  jurisdic- 
tion over  the  main  channel  of  the  Parana  because  it  ran  near  his 
shores,  and  when  he  endeavored  to  make  it  appear  that  the 
Water  Witch,  in  entering  it,  had  violated  a  national  right,  I  de- 
termined to  expose  this  evasion  or  misinterpretation  of  every 
principle  of  international  law,  and  in  one  of  the  leading  papers 


THE  LAW  OF  NATIONS.  313 

of  Buenos  Ayres  gave  a  statement  of  the  position  of  tlie  steamer 
wlieu  fired  upon,  and  quoted  fully  from  Wheaton  on  the  "  Law 
of  Nations."  From  my  references  in  that  article,  I  here  insert 
one  paragraph  to  show  the  extent  to  which  rights  under  a  com- 
mon boundary  are  very  fully  recognized. 

*'  It  was  a  principle  that  the  right  to  a  thing  gives  a  right  to  the  means 
without  which  it  could  not  be  used  ;  that  is  to  say,  that  the  means  follow 
the  end.  Thus  a  right  to  navigate  a  river  draws  to  it  a  right  to  moor  ves- 
sels to  its  shores,  to  land  on  them  in  cases  of  distress,  or  for  other  necessary 
purposes,  etc.,  etc.  This  principle  was  founded  in  natm-al  reason,  was  evi- 
denced by  the  common  rule  of  mankind,  and  declared  by  the  writers  before 
quoted."*— P.  357. 

I  have  stated  that  I  was  overtaken  by  the  Water  Witch  two 
hundred  miles  below  Corrientes.  The  information  she  brought 
disturbed  all  my  plans  for  the  immediate  exploration  of  the  Sala- 
do,  for  I  could  not  rest  quietly  under  this  insult  to  our  national 
honor ;  and  as  the  steamer  was  slightly  disabled,  and  her  arma- 
ment not  such  as  could  enable  me  to  act  effectively  and  surely 
against  a  fort  of  six  guns,  I  determined  to  proceed  to  Buenos 
Ayres  or  Montevideo,  in  the  hope  of  procuring  from  a  ship  of  our 
squadron  two  large  shell  guns,  which  would  enable  me  to  return. 

On  arriving  at  Parana,  we  found  at  anchor  quite  an  imposing 
Brazilian  squadron,  consisting  of  eight  steamers — the  Amazon,  the 
admiral's  flag-ship,  three  sloops  of  war,  and  eleven  transports, 
bound  for  Paraguay.  Such  a  demonstration  from  Brazil  had  been 
for  some  months  anticipated,  not  only  to  settle  the  question  of 
boundary,  but  to  open  a  way,  by  the  Paraguay,  to  Cuyaba.  This 
mode  of  backing  negotiation  by  a  squadron  is,  it  seems,  not  con- 
fined to  England  at  this  day ;  and,  however  much  it  may  be  looked 
upon  as  an  act  to  intimidate,  it  must  be  resorted  to  in  dealing  with 
governments  that  can  not  be  reasoned  into  an  observance  of  the 
rights  of  nations. 

I  hastened  to  Buenos  Ayres.  A  great  disappointment  awaited 
me :  but  three  days  before  the  Germantown  had  sailed  for  Eio  Ja- 
neiro. I  had  been  buoyed  up  with  the  hope  of  meeting  this  par- 
ticular ship.  Her  commander.  Captain  Lynch,  is  an  ofiicer  who 
would,  I  knew,  fully  sjmapathize  with  me  in  a  sense  of  the  outrage 
to  our  flag,  and  afford  me  every  assistance  in  his  power  to  avenge 
the  wrong. 

I  proceeded  to  Montevideo,  and  finding  there  an  American  clip- 

*  The  principal  writers  on  national  law. 


314  PROPOSED  RETALIATION. 

per  bound  for  Eio,  dispatched  Lieutenant  Powell  witli  a  report  of 
the  affair  to  the  commander  of  the  squadron,  Commodore  W.  D. 
Salter,  and  with  an  earnest  appeal  for  aid.  I  begged  that  he  would 
order  the  German  town  to  Paraguay  ;*  and  at  the  same  time  sent  a 
report  of  the  attack  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  and  to  the  min- 
ister resident  at  Buenos  Ayres.f 

On  the  19th  the  Germantown  arrived  off  Montevideo,  bound  for 
Buenos  Ayres,  but  with  no  satisfactory  reply  from  the  Commo- 
dore, except  that  he  would  sail  soon  for  La  Plata. 

I  here  quote  from  my  journal : 

^^  31st  March,  1854:.  The  Savannah,  flag-ship,  has  arrived.  I  im- 
mediately visited  the  Commodore,  and  informed  him  I  was  ready, 
and  the  Water  Witch  was  in  order  for  any  service  he  might  de- 
sire of  me  (alluding  to  her  towing  the  Germantown  up  the  Para- 
na) ;  or,  if  he  had  no  other  work  for  me,  would  proceed  to  the 
Uruguay.  I  still  hoped  there  was  more  important  service,  for  I 
was  unwilling  to  beheve  that  this  outrage  could  long  be  suffered 
to  go  unnoticed.  He  desired  me  to  remain  for  a  few  days,  as  he 
wished  to  confer  with  our  resident  minister  at  Buenos  Ayres. 

"  April  5th.  Have  had  a  conversation  with  the  Commodore 
since  my  visit  of  the  31st,  and  urged  the  propriety  of  sending  the 
Germantown  up,  towed  by  the  Water  Witch,  to  knock  down 
Itapiru." 

Captain  Lynch,  in  a  noble,  generous  spirit,  which  I  fully  appre- 
ciate, had  proposed  to  the  Commodore  to  take  the  Germantown 
up,  or  relinquish  the  command  of  the  ship  to  me  for  that  pur- 
pose. 

"  April  6th.  Again  called  on  the  Commodore ;  found  him  in 
close  conversation  with  Mr.  Peden — as  I  supposed,  about  the  Para- 
guay affair.     I  left  immediately." 

"  A23ril  8th.  Called  again  on  the  Commodore  to  know  his  de- 
termination about  my  towing  up  the  Germantown.     He  said,  '  I 

*  Extract  from  report  to  Commodore  Salter : 

"The  Water  Witch,  with  the  Germantown  or  a  brig  in  tow,  will  be  amply  suffi- 
cient to  inflict  such  punishment  on  Paraguay  as  the  insult  demands — not  only  knock 
down  the  fort,  but  capture  the  squadron  also.  Should  additional  steam  power  be 
required  in  towing,  it  can  easily  be  obtained  here.  The  more  promptly  this  is  done, 
the  more  easily  and  effectually  it  may  be  done. 

"I  can  not  express  to  you  how  deeply  I  regret  not  finding  either  yourself  or  Cap- 
tain Lynch  here.  I  shall  proceed  to  take  in  coals,  and  have  some  slight  repairs  to 
the  engine,  hoping  for  your  arrival  meantime." 

t  Mr.  Pendleton  had  been  recalled,  and  this  place  was  filled  by  Mr.  Peden,  of 
Florida. 


ASSISTANCE  KEFUSED.  3I5 

can  not  move  in  this  matter.  Tlie  affair  is  referred  to  tlae  gov- 
ernment, and  I  shall  await  instructions.'  I  then  said,  '  Will 
you,  Sir,  supply  the  Water  Witch  with  two  large  guns,  either 
from  the  Savannah  or  the  Germantown  ?  I  desire  to  return  and 
carry  on  the  work,  but  I  do  not  feel  justified  in  doing  so  with 
the  steamer  in  her  present  defenseless  state.  He  said,  '  No,  there 
are  other  fields  for  the  expedition,  and  you  had  better  not  re- 
turn to  that  part  of  the  river  until  instructions  are  received  from 
home.' 

"  The  Commodore  and  minister  have  been  in  conference.  It 
was  a  labor  that  brought  forth  nothing." 

This  was  to  me  a  bitter  disappointment  and  mortification.  I 
clearly  saw  that  the  Commodore  had  assumed  a  responsibility  in 
not  acting  of  far  greater  magnitude  than  if  he  had  pursued  the 
most  vigorous  and  decisive  measures.  It  was  evident  to  me  that 
the  responsibility  lay  in  doing  nothing. 

If  a  national  vessel  is  fired  into,  unless  the  mistake  is  manifest, 
for  the  honor  of  the  flag  and  the  credit  of  her  commander,  the 
fire  must  be  returned.  The  beautiful  Christian  precept  of  turning 
the  left  cheek  when  the  right  is  smitten,  is  not  observed,  and  per- 
haps not  understood  in  national  intercourse.  If  a  man  receives 
a  blow,  he  rarely  folds  his  arms  and  waits  for  explanation :  he  re- 
turns the  blow ;  and  if  in  the  wrong,  he  will  discover  it  in  proper 
time,  and  make  amends. 

The  fort  of  Itapiru  ought  to  have  been  knocked  down,  and 
we  should  now  be  even  with  the  Paraguay  government.  I  beg- 
ged but  for  two  guns,  and  I  would  have  pledged  my  life  in  the 
effort. 

There  were  neither  women,  children,  nor  property  of  peaceful 
citizens  or  foreigners  to  be  injured,  or  involve  us  in  endless  ne- 
gotiation for  reclamation. 

It  was  a  difficulty  for  the  Commodore,  and  for  him  alone,  to 
settle.  A  consultation  with  the  minister  was  all  well  enough ; 
he  is  generally  presumed  to  be  a  person  of  standing  at  home,  and 
competent  abroad  to  advise  in  such  an  emergency ;  but  confer- 
ences can  never  shift  responsibility.  The  obligations  and  duties 
of  a  United  States  legation  and  a  United  States  squadron  are  not 
blended,  neither  can  they  possibly  conflict.  Each  is  alone  an- 
swerable to  the  government  for  a  proper  performance  of  its  re- 
spective duties. 

To  refer  the  matter  home  was  an  effectual  way  of  getting  rid 


316  SHIFTING  THE  RESPONSIBILITY. 

of,  or  of  indefinitely  postponing  it.  There  are  extraordinary  occa- 
sions, and  I  consider  this  one,  where  the  authority  of  a  commander 
on  a  foreign  station  exceeds  even  that  of  the  Executive  Department. 

He  has  the  right,  the  power,  and  it  is  his  duty  to  resent  and 
avenge  all  and  every  outrage  committed  upon  American  vessels 
within  the  limits  of  his  station.  How  much  more  must  he  feel 
the  necessity  of  exercising  this  power  when  a  vessel  of  his  own 
squadron  has  been  msulted.  He  is  not  merely  to  report  occur- 
rences, and  await  answers,  but  is  presumed  to  possess  some  natural 
ability — some  knowledge  of  the  law  of  nations,  and  some  sense  of 
honor,  blended  with  a  discretion  which  will  enable  him  to  assume 
the  responsibility  of  evident  duty. 

Paraguay  was  not  considered  a  territory  occupied  by  wild  In- 
dians, or  as  a  den  of  pirates.  "We  had  negotiated  a  treaty  of 
friendship  and  commerce  with  her,  and  that  treaty  had  been  rati- 
fied by  our  Senate.*  To  order  the  Commodore  to  proceed  there 
and  chastise  her  would  have  been  making  war  upon  a  republic 
recognized  as  belonging  to  the  family  of  nations,  and  this  is  a 
power  which  the  Executive  does  not  possess.  When  the  egre- 
gious mistake  is  made  of  supposing  one's  duty  fully  discharged 
by  merely  reporting  outrages  to  the  Department,  we  embarrass  its 
movements.  An  ofl&cer  can  prevent  this  by  avenging  at  the  mo- 
ment all  insults,  without  placing  the  Executive  in  the  humiliating 
position  of  bearing  them  passively  until  an  appeal  can  be  made  to 
Congress  for  powers  to  act. 

I  have  no  desire  to  criticise  or  censure  the  course  of  the  Com- 
modore, but  it  is  due  to  myself  and  to  the  navy  to  make  a  full 
statement  of  this  affair. 

Had  the  Water  Witch  been  in  error,  which  can  not  be  sustained 
by  the  most  specious  arguments,  how  could  it  justify  this  insult 
to  our  flag?  It  is  clear  she  meditated  no  attack,  assumed  no 
threatening  attitude,  and  did  not  fire  a  gun  until  the  evidence  of 
a  shot  from  the  fort  showed  itself  in  cutting  down  one  of  her  crew 
and  carrying  away  her  wheel.  Was  the  of&cer  in  charge  to  sub- 
mit to  this  ?  It  is  no  justification  of  the  act  to  say  that  blank 
cartridges  were  fired  and  a  message  from  the  fort  delivered  along- 
side, for  we  do  not  recognize  the  right  of  Paraguay  to  control  the 
explorations  of  that  river.  The  prohibition  of  her  President  was 
an  unwarrantable  assumption  of  power,  and  its  enforcement  by  a 
shot,  in  every  way  that  we  can  view  it,  a  gross  outrage, 

*  The  Paraguay  government  subsequently  refused  the  exchange  of  ratification. 


OUR  TRUE  COURSE.  3;[7 

I  had  taken  some  trouble  to  inform  myself,  from  every  available 
source,  of  the  rights,  exclusive  and  concurrent,  over  the  naviga- 
tion of  the  rivers  of  La  Plata,  because  I  studiously  designed  to 
keep  the  expedition  aloof  from  any  semblance  of  interference  in 
the  diiferences  of  neighboring  powers ;  and  it  entered  those  wa- 
ters only  where  the  jurisdiction  of  the  government  granting  per- 
mission was  unquestioned. 

I  believe  I  understand  President  Lopez  well  enough  to  say  that, 
had  he  received  at  the  proper  time  a  spirited  rebuke,  had  Itapiru 
been  knocked  down  or  his  squadron  captured,  we  should  now  be 
on  the  best  possible  terms.  He  would  not,  a  year  later,  have 
met  our  special  commissioner  on  the  threshold  of  his  mission  by 
demanding  to  be  informed  what  resolution  this  government  had 
made  to  give  satisfaction  for  the  outrages  and  hostilities  commit- 
ted by  the  commander  of  the  Water  Witch,  "  in  order  to  see  if 
the  case  was  such  as  to  justify  the  exchange  of  ratification  of  the 
treaty  of  the  4th  of  March,  1853,  and  to  this  intent  you  will  be 
pleased  to  reply  to  this  note."* 

In  an  official  dispatch  to  our  Secretary  of  State,  dated  Asun- 
cion, November  29th,  1856,  Seuor  Vasquez  says : 

"  His  Excellency,  President  Lopez,  will  be  found  well  disposed  to  renew 
the  negotiation  of  a  treaty  of  friendship,  commerce,  and  navigation,  so  soon 
as  his  Excellency  the  President  of  the  United  States  may  desire  to  send  to 
this  city  a  Plenipotentiary  with  suitable  instructions,  which  will  afford  an 
appropriate  occasion  to  settle  the  questions  I  have  cited  to  the  Seiior  Com- 
missioner in  my  note  of  the  8th  of  this  month."! 

Again,  in  the  correspondence  of  the  Minister  of  Foreign  Rela- 
tions,,  Seiior  Nicholas  Vasquez,  with  our  special  commissioner, 
Mr.  Richard  Fitzpatrick,  under  date  Asuncion,  November  26th, 
1856: 

"  His  Excellency  the  President  of  the  Republic  ratified  fully  and  com- 
pletely on  the  12th  of  March,  1853,  with  the  consent  of  his  Council  of 

*  Extract  of  note  from  Secretary  Vasquez  to  Commissioner  Fitzpatrick,  Novem- 
ber 8th,  1856: 

"  Para  ver  si  es  llegado  el  caso  de  verificar  lisa  j  llanamente  el  cange  de  las 
ratificaciones  del  Tradado  de  4  Marzo  de  1853,  y  al  efecto  se  servira  U.  S.  respon- 
der  a  esta  nota." 

t  "  Que  S.  E.  se  halla  en  la  major  disposicion  de  renovar  la  negociacion  da  un 
Tratado  de  amistad,  commercio,  y  navigacion,  desde  que  el  Exmo.  Senor  Presi- 
dente  de  los  Estados  Unidos  qniera  enviar  efecto  a  esta  Ciudad  un  Plenipotencia- 
rio,  con  instrucciones  convcnientes ;  y  que  contal  oportunidad  se  podra  definir  las 
questiones  pendientes  que  he  citado  a  S.  S.  en  la  citada  nota  des  8  de  este  mes." 


318  PARAGUAYAN  DISPATCHES. 

State,  the  treaty  referred  to  of  the  4th  of  March,  as  I  explained  to  you  at 
our  official  interview,  and  in  this  aspect  it  is  not  possible  for  his  Excellency 
the  President  of  the  Republic  to  submit  to  a  new  ratification  on  the  terms 
you  propose ;  and  in  this  view  of  the  question  I  inform  you  of  the  receipt 
of  your  note  of  the  18th,  reaffirming  mine  of  the  15th,  and  closing  the  cor- 
respondence."* 

I  remained  but  a  few  days  at  Buenos  Ayres,  to  obtain  a  verifi- 
cation of  tlie  clironometer  before  entering  tbe  Uruguay,  but  kept 
tlie  Commodore  advised  by  letter  of  tlie  state  of  tbe  Parana.  I 
was  enabled  to  show  him  that  the  river  had  continued  to  rise 
since  I  descended  it  in  February,  and  at  that  time  there  was  not 
less  than  sixteen  feet  of  water  over  the  worst  passes.  I  was  re- 
solved that  he  should  entertain  no  doubts  as  to  the  practicability 
of  having  the  Germantown  towed  up  from  a  want  of  water ;  and 
in  my  last  note  to  him  from  Buenos  Ayres,  dated  April  20th, 
1855, 1  say :  "I  yesterday  learned  from  an  acquaintance  from  La 

Paz that  the  Parana  is  very  high,  there  being  four  fathoms 

of  water  at  this  time  on  the  worst  shoals." 

Previously,  at  his  own  request,  I  had  given  him  a  statement, 
not  simply  as  to  the  condition  of  the  river  at  the  present  season, 
but  details  as  to  its  periodical  changes. 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 


Island  of  Martin  Garcia. — Pass  of  San  Juan. — Town  of  Higneritas. — The  Brasso 
Bravo. —  Rio  Negro.  —  The  Gualaguaychu.  —  Concepcion. — Frey  Bentos. — Fine 
Pasturage. — Herds  of  Cattle. — Arrival  at  Concepcion. — College. — Saladeros. — 
Town  of  Paisandu. — An  Englishman's  Estancia. — Current  of  the  River. — Palm 
Forests  of  Entre  Rios. — The  Arroyo  Grande. — Paso  Heredcra. — Town  of  Con- 
cordia.— Trade. — Salto. — The  Salto  Grande. — Killing  a  Partridge. — Rise  of  Wa- 
ter.— Tide. — Track  Survey  of  the  Rio  Negro. — Town  of  Soriana. — Mercedes. — 
Sarsaparilla. — Fossil  Remains. — Megatherium  and  Glyptodon. — Health  of  this 
Region  of  Country. — Cattle  and  Estancias. 

On  the  24th  of  April,  1855,  we  left  the  inner  roads  of  Buenos 
Ayres,  and,  passing  through  the  shipping  in  the  outer  roads,  stood 

*  "El  Exmo.  Senor  Presidente  de  la  Republica  ha  notificado  lisa  y  llanamente 
el  12  de  Marzo  de  1853,  con  dictamen  de  su  consejo  de  Estado,  el  Tratado  referido 
de  4  del  propio  Marzo,  como  he  manifestado  a  U.  S.  en  nuestra  conferencia  oficial, 
yen  esta  positura  no  es  dable  que  S.  E.  el  Sr.  Presidente  de  la  Republica  se  someta 
a  nueva  ratificacion  en  los  terminos  que  U.  S.  el  presente  aviso  de  racibo  de  su 
nota  reforida  del  18,  reproduciendo  mi  anterior  del  15,  y  dando  por  cerrada  esta 
correspondencia. " 


EXPEDITION  TO  THE  URUGUAY.  3I9 

for  the  entrance  to  the  Martin  Garcia  Channel.  I  quote  from  my 
journal  of  this  date : 

"  Steered  a  N.E.  course  per  compass  from  the  man-of-war  an- 
chorage, carrying  not  less  than  fifteen  feet  water,  until  the  high 
lands  of  San  Juan  (on  the  Banda  Oriental  side)  were  made  on  the 
same  bearing,  and  with  Martin  Garcia  N.W.  by  W. ;  a  single 
ombu  south  of  San  Juan,  E.N.E.,  and  two  ombus  near  Colonia, 
E.S.B.  We  passed  the  bar  of  San  Juan  with  not  less  than  four- 
teen feet  of  water,  although  I  am  confident  we  were  not  in  the 
channel,  as  the  pilot  also  thought." 

In  returning,  after  having  completed  the  survey  of  the  Uruguay, 
I  find  the  following  entry  in  my  journal : 

"  Left  the  island  Martin  Garcia,  having  obtained  all  the  required 
observations,  and  when  the  high  lands  of  San  Juan  bore  N.  42° 
E.,  and  Martin  Garcia  N.  60°  W.,  stood  across  the  bank,  steering 
S.S.  W.,  to  the  outer  roads  of  Buenos  Ayres ;  least  water  at  low 
tide  ten  feet.  Martin  Garcia  was  plainly  in  sight,  distant  about 
twelve  miles,  where  the  course  was  shaped  for  the  outer  roads." 

The  bank  here  alluded  to  is  that  immense  shoal  between  the 
Palma  Pass  and  the  Guazu,  formed  by  the  gradual  accretion  of  allu- 
vial matter  brought  down  by  the  branches  into  which  the  Parana 
is  divided  by  the  numerous  islands  forming  its  delta.  It  extends 
from  the  base  of  the  delta  south  and  east,  gradually  diminishing 
and  the  depth  of  water  increasing,  until  it  is  lost  in  the  main 
channel  of  La  Plata.  The  new  channel  discovered  in  our  work 
gives  a  greater  depth,  by  two  feet,  into  the  Parana  and  Uruguay, 
showing  that  sixteen  feet  water  may  be  carried  into  either  of 
those  rivers,  over  the  bar  of  San  Juan,  at  the  ordinary  low  state 
of  the  tide.  B}^  tidal  observations,  made  at  Martin  Garcia  during 
the  month  of  August,  1855,  the  ordinary  rise  was  two  to  three 
feet ;  that  produced  by  the  wdnd  at  southeast,  when  not  blowing 
fresh,  varied  from  three  to  four  feet. 

"Anchored  at  Higueritas,  about  four  hundred  yards  from  the 
shore,  in  fifteen  feet  of  water.  This  little  town  in  the  Banda  Ori- 
ental is  the  first  met  with  on  entering  the  Uruguay.  It  stands 
half  a  mile  inland,  upon  a  ridge  that  slopes  to  the  plain  bordering 
the  river.  The  shore  line  is  crescent-shaped,  the  horns  protecting 
the  anchorage  from  those  southeast  winds  which  often  delay  for 
months  the  discharge  and  loading  of  vessels  at  Buenos  Ayres. 
Cabot  entered  the  mouth  of  the  Uruguay,  and  may  have  been  de- 
terred from  forming  any  settlement  upon  its  banks  by  the  fero- 


320  HIGUERITAS. 

cious  character  of  tlie  Indians,  wlio  massacred  a  boat  party  that 
had,  under  the  command  of  Alvarez  Eamon,  ascended  some  dis- 
tance ;  but  in  recognizing  the  superior  advantages  of  Higueritas  as 
a  port,  we  wonder  that  it  should  have  escaped  the  keen  eye  of  De 
Garay  when  seeking  the  site  of  a  commercial  town  near  the  At- 
lantic. The  anchorage  is  open  from  S.W.  to  N.W.,  the  width  of 
the  river,  and  its  waters  could  be  agitated  by  no  sea  that  would 
delay  the  dispatch  of  vessels.  Within  the  bar  of  San  Juan  the 
depth  varies  from  three  to  ten  fathoms,  and  off  this  place,  at  a  dis- 
tance of  from  three  hundred  yards  to  three  quarters  of  a  mile,  from 
two  to  six  fathoms,  with  a  gradual  inclination  of  the  bottom  to  the 
shore.  In  the  neighborhood  are  fine  granite  quarries,  from  which 
exhaustless  supplies  of  building  material  could  be  obtained.  The 
Braso  Bravo,  one  of  the  branches  of  the  Parana,  which  is  equally 
navigable  with  the  Guazu,  empties  into  the  Uruguay  directly  op- 
posite Higueritas,  and  the  Braso  Largo,  another  arm,  a  little 
above.  This  river  is  the  dividing  line  between  the  Banda  Ori- 
ental and  Entre  Eios,  and  the  aspect  of  the  country  upon  the  right 
and  the  left  presents  for  some  distance  in  ascending  a  striking 
contrast.  The  shores  on  the  left  rise  precipitously  from  the  wa- 
ter, and  the  interior  country,  so  far  as  the  eye  can  reach,  is  a  series 
of  grassy  undulations  clear  of  wood.  The  right  banks  are  low 
and  wooded.  As  we  advance,  the  bright  green  turf  lands  of  En- 
tre Eios  gradually  rise  from  the  very  margin  of  the  river  some 
sixty  feet,  the  general  elevation  of  the  country.  On  the  left  the 
banks  of  the  Uruguay  and  its  small  tributary  streams  from  the 
Banda  Oriental  are  skirted  with  quebracho,  urunday,  etc.,  while 
clumps  of  espinilla  give  a  park-like  appearance  to  the  interior 
country." 

The  width  of  the  river  varies  from  four  to  seven  miles ;  its 
waters  are  turbid,  and  the  channel  not  so  well  defined  as  that  of 
the  Parana ;  but  there  is  ample  depth  for  the  Water  Witch.  The 
first  affluent  of  any  importance  is  the  Eio  Negro,  which  rises  in 
the  interior  of  the  Banda  Oriental,  and  empties  by  several  arms 
into  the  Uruguay,  the  vast  expanse  of  which  is  here  interrupted 
by  low  wooded  islands :  Islas  Boca,  Falsa,  Eondo,  Lobos,  Jaguar, 
Jaguar  Chico,  and  Biscaino. 

Twelve  miles  above  Eio  Negro,  the  Gualaguaychu  empties  into 
the  Uruguay  from  the  right ;  opposite,  and  six  miles  distant — the 
width  of  the  river  at  this  point — is  Frey  Bentos,  an  anchorage  for 
all  large  vessels  engaged  in  the  trade  of  Concepcion  del  Uruguay 


GUALAGUAYCHU.  821 

and  the  town  of  Gualaguaychu,  which  latter  is  situated  on  the 
right  bank  of  a  stream  of  the  same  name,  and  nine  miles  above 
its  mouth.  Vessels  of  considerable  size  can  go  up  to  Concepcion, 
but  they  drop  down  here  to  complete  cargo. 

Nine  feet  can  be  carried  within  a  mile  of  the  mouth  of  the 
Gualaguaychu,  but  at  this  point  is  encountered  a  bar  over  which 
there  is  but  six  feet  at  low  water,  and  from  eight  and  a  half  to 
nine  at  high.  This  depth  may  be  carried  up  to  the  town,  which, 
as  the  centre  of  a  rich  grazing  state,  must  become — indeed  is — a 
place  of  commercial  activity,  notwithstanding  the  inconvenience 
of  ti-^ishipment,  fifteen  miles  from  the  port.  Its  exports — hides, 
tallow,  jerked  beef,  and  bone  manure,  are  brought  down  to  Frey 
Bentos  in  large  sail-boats  and  small-decked  craft.  In  1849  it 
contained  but  7000  inhabitants,  but  under  the  benign  influence 
of  constitutional  government  its  population  and  trade  have  in- 
creased a  hundred  per  cent.  Two  years  have  elapsed  since  my 
first  visit,  and  I  not  only  find  its  extent  doubled,  by  new  squares 
and  streets,  but  the  pubhc  and  private  buildings  are  handsome  and 
substantial  structures.  Among  them  are  a  government  house, 
theatre,  and  a  private  dwelling  for  General  Urquiza.  American 
pine  lumber,  now  extensively  used  in  the  growing  towns  on  the 
Parana,  is  also  in  demand  here. 

Settlers  are  availing  themselves  of  the  liberal  policy  which 
governs  the  distribution  or  sale  of  public  lands.  The  payment 
of  a  few  shillings  for  recording  the  title  will  secure  a  fine  chacra 
(farm),  or  even  lots  within  the  limits  of  a  town,  with  the  sole  ob- 
ligation that  the  receiver  shaU  occupy  it  himself,  or  by  proxy,  if 
a  town  lot ;  or  if  a  farm,  inclose  it  within  six  months. 

The  territory  of  this  department  extends  from  the  Gualaguay 
River — coasting  the  Parana,  to  its  entrance  into  the  Uruguay, 
thence  along  the  river  to  the  Gualaguaychu,  embracing  ten  judi- 
cial districts.  Independent  of  its  foreign  commerce,  which  is 
steadily  iacreasing,  it  has  considerable  trade  with  Buenos  Ayres 
and  Montevideo.  This  is  carried  on  in  vessels  of  light  draught. 
The  discriminating  duties,  recently  imposed  by  the  Argentine 
government  upon  interior  trade,  will  necessarily  induce  foreign 
ships  to  its  ports.  This  will  prove  a  great  gain  to  both  buyer  and 
seller.  The  estimated  amount  of  exports  from  Gualaguaychu 
for  the  year  1851  was  $447,273 ;  and  that  of  imports  $179,929. 

Ascending  from  Frey  Bentos,  the  course  of  the  river  changes 
from  north  to  east,  washing  on  two  sides  the  Pincon  de  GaUinas 

21 


322  CONCEPCION. 

— a  corner  of  Banda  Oriental,  embracing  many  square  leagues, 
and  almost  insulated  by  the  Rio  Negro  and  tlie  Uruguay.  It  is 
entirely  unoccupied,  except  by  tbe  huts  of  a  few  woodmen,  who 
pay  a  small  sum  for  the  privilege  of  cutting  its  espinilla  for  the 
Buenos  Ayres  market,  and  yet  it  presents  one  of  the  most  desir- 
able points  on  this  river  for  the  establishment  of  estancias.  A 
fence  across  the  narrow  neck,  connecting  it  with  the  main  land, 
would  effectually  prevent  one  of  the  embarrassments  complained 
of  by  the  estancieros — the  straying  of  young  cattle  before  they 
have  received  their  "  mark."  Its  verdant  ridges  afford  extended 
views  of  land  and  water,  and  would  be  beautiful  sites  for  dwel^ngs. 

Between  Frey  Bentos  and  Concepcion — a  distance  by  the  course 
of  the  river  of  50  miles — the  lands  of  Entre  Rios,  where  seen  from 
the  channel,  were  undulating,  ranging  some  60  or  60  feet  above 
the  river.  The  pasturage  was  fine,  and  herds  of  cattle,  droves  of 
horses,  and  flocks  of  sheep  covered  its  green  slopes.  The  view 
of  the  main  land  was  sometimes  intercepted  entirely  by  high 
islands,  many  of  them  covered  by  a  dense  but  indifferent  vegeta- 
tion ;  others  had  a  large  number  of  peach-trees ;  willows  abound- 
ed, and,  in  the  absence  of  better  wood,  are  burned  for  charcoal. 

We  left  the  main  channel,  which  continues  near  the  shores  of 
the  Banda  Oriental,  to  test  the  practicability  of  one  between  the 
islands  Bopigua  and  Laguna.  Though  contracted,  it  is  perfectly 
safe  and  unobstructed.  We  elitered  a  riacho,  and 'passing  the 
mouth  of  the  Arroyo  da  China,  upon  which  stream  is  estabhshed 
a  vast  saladero,  we  anchored  off  Concepcion. 

Our  reception  now — as  on  a  former  occasion,  when  I  visited 
this  town  with  Messrs.  Pendleton  and  Schenck — was  extremely 
flattering,  and  showed  that  the  services  of  the  Water  Witch  were 
remembered  gratefully.  Beef  and  vegetables  were  sent  by  the 
authorities  for  the  use  of  the  crew,  and  every  possible  courtesy 
was  extended  to  the  officers.  Among  other  civilities  we  received 
and  accepted  an  invitation  to  a  ball  given  in  celebration  of  the 
anniversary  of  Urquiza's  proclamation  against  Rosas  in  1851. 

Concepcion  has  5000  inhabitants,  and  is  prettily  situated  on 
high  land,  about  half  a  mile  from  the  river.  I  have  before  allud- 
ed to  its  primary  school  and  college,  established  by  Urquiza. 
Both  these  institutions  were  at  this  time  in  the  most  flourishing 
condition.  General  Urquiza  is  a  native  of  Entre  Rios,  resides 
much  at  San  Jose,*  and  takes  great  interest  in  the  growth  and 
*  The  estancia  visited  by  me  in  1 853. 


THE  BANDA  ORIENTAL.  323 

prosperity  of  this  place.  It  is  the  principal  town  in  the  Uruguay 
Department,  which  comprehends  five  judicial  districts,  and  em- 
braces all  the  territory  from  the  Gualaguaychu,  coasting  the  Uru- 
guay Kiver,  to  the  Arroyo  Grande. 

The  saladero  at  the  mouth  of  the  Arroyo  da  China  is  con- 
ducted on  a  vast  scale.  At  the  shipping  season,  when  the  estab- 
lishment is  in  full  operation,  they  slaughter,  salt  up,  stow  away 
the  beef,  hides,  and  try  out  the  tallow  of  five  hundred  head  of 
cattle  per  day.  The  arroyo  is  deep,  and  there  were  at  the  time 
of  our  visit  three  vessels — a  bark,  and  two  brigs  of  two  and  three 
hundred  tons  burden — lying  close  to  the  shore.  Two  of  them 
were  taking  in  cargoes  of  hides  and  tallow,  while  the  third  was 
loading  with  horns,  bones,  and  bone-ashes  for  England.  The 
economy  of  the  establishment  was  perfect.  Parts  formerly  thrown 
away — entrails  and  carcasses — are  now  subjected  to  a  steam  press- 
ure, by  which  every  particle  of  fatty  matter  is  extracted ;  the 
residue  is  dried  as  fuel  for  the  furnaces  ;  the  ashes  of  this  fuel  are 
shipped  for  England,  and  there  greatly  valued  for  fertilizing  pur- 
poses. They  told  me  at  this  saladero,  that  notwithstanding  the 
fine  appearance  of  the  Entre  Eios  cattle,  those  of  the  Banda  Ori- 
ental, bordering  the  Uruguay,  were  superior,  and  with  this  remark- 
able difference  that  hides  from  animals  of  the  same  size  weighed 
several  pounds  more. 

"  Nineteen  miles  above  Concepcion  is  Paisandu,  a  town  of  2388 
souls,  and  the  only  one  on  the  Banda  Oriental  shores  since  leav- 
ing BQgueritas,  distant  130  miles.  It  is  a  forlorn,  dilapidated 
place.  The  houses  are  deserted,  the  gardens  overgrown  with 
weeds — the  marks  of  civil  war,  from  which  that  state  had  just 
been  delivered.  The  grass  of  the  surrounding  country  is  good, 
but  the  number  of  cattle  is  greatly  diminished.  Not  a  tree  or 
sign  of  cultivation  meets  the  eye.  Statistics  of  this  department 
rate  the  cattle  at  350,000 ;  horses,  3060 ;  sheep,  56,000 ;  hogs, 
1558 ;  jackasses,  2000 ;  and  a  few  goats.  There  are  134  pastoral 
establishments  {establicimentos  de  pastord)^  two  of  which  formerly 
furnished  as  many  cattle  as  can  now  be  found  in  the  whole  de- 
partment. The  population  of  this  district,  exclusive  of  that  of 
the  town,  is  3859.  A  few  miles  above  Paisandu  is  the  Saladero 
Madelaso,  where  a  large  number  of  mares  are  slaughtered  annu- 
ally. 

"  In  the  Banda  Oriental  a  series  of  grassy  ridges  run  parallel 
with  the  river,  and  upon  them  are  several  quintas ;  near  one  is  a 


324  MR.  CAMPBELL'S  ESTANCIA. 

field  of  wheat.  The  interior  country  is  open,  witli  clumps  of 
mimosae.  Friable  limestone  abounds.  On  the  opposite  side,  in 
Entre  Eios,  the  river  is  skirted  by  a  dense  growth  of  wood ;  and 
near  the  mouth  of  the  Arroyo  San  Francisco,  which  there  empties 
into  the  Uruguay,  is  a  lime-kiln,  the  stone  for  which  is  found  in 
the  immediate  neighborhood. 

"Anchored  25  miles  above  Paisandu,  off  the  estancia  of  an 
Englishman.  Quantities  of  espinilla  are  cut  and  corded  for  the 
Buenos  Ayres  market.  The  site  of  Mr.  Campbell's  dwelhng  is 
well  chosen,  and,  before  learning  the  name  of  the  owner,  I  knew, 
from  the  appearance  of  a  fine  vegetable  garden,  that  it  must  be 
the  property  of  a  foreigner.  There  was,  however,  even  here,  no 
other  cultivation ;  for  cattle-breeding  is  so  easy,  rapid,  and  certain 
a  road  to  fortune,  that  foreigners,  like  the  natives  of  the  country, 
overlook  the  productive  capabilities  of  the  soil.  This  estancia 
contains  five  square  leagues,  and  has  the  desiderata  of  a  cattle- 
farm,  fine  pasturage,  and  abundance  of  water,  being  intersected 
by  several  arroyos.  A  few  years  since  it  was  purchased  for 
$17,000  ;  it  had  then  16,000  head  of  cattle,  and  now,  with  18,000, 
it  is  valued  at  .$60,000.  This  shows  a  considerable  increase  in 
the  price  of  cattle,  for  the  land,  when  stocked,  is  rated  at  nothing. 

"  The  current  is  here  two  knots,  and  increasing  as  we  go  up- 
ward ;  the  least  depth  of  water  so  far  is  13  feet ;  shoals,  where 
they  exist,  are  sand,  or  sand  and  gravel. 

"  Above  Estancia  Campbell  a  belt  of  wood  follows  the  course 
of  the  river  on  both  shores,  and  inland  are  seen  clumps  of  mimosse. 
The  grass  of  the  Banda  Oriental  is  of  a  deeper  hue  than  that  of 
the  opposite  state,  which,  from  the  character  of  its  soil — light  and 
sandy — is  more  affected  by  drought. 

"  Three  miles  above  this  estancia  is  the  Arroyo  Palma;  on  the 
right,  palmse ;  on  the  left,  espinilla. 

"  Yuelta  San  Jose,  Campo  San  Jose — upon  it  a  fine  stone  cor- 
ral, made  by  the  Brazilians  during  their  invasion  of  the  Banda. 
The  palm  forests  of  Entre  Rios  are  dense,  and  the  ground  beneath 
is  carpeted  with  a  turf  of  bright  green.  Herds  and  flocks  on  that 
side  are  always  in  sight.  These  quiet  pastoral  landscapes  are  very 
beautiful,  and  we  all  have  stocked  estancias  and  built  a  hund- 
red air  castles  upon  the  verdant  ridges.  I  never  knew  a  sailor 
whose  snug  harbor,  after  the  toils  and  dangers  of  a  sea-life  were 
over,  was  not  a  farm,  and  here  it  may  be  had  without  the  de- 
sideratum in  older  countries — money. 


CONCOEDIA.— SALTO.  326 

"Arroyo  Grande,  tlie  dividing  line  between  the  departments 
Uruguay  and  Concordia,  empties  from  the  right  bank  opposite 
the  island  Guaviu.  This  stream  is  skirted  by  fine  timber,  que- 
bracho, etc,  A  quarter  of  a  mile  above,  another  stream,  the  Ar- 
royo Chapiqui  Chico,  flows  into  the  Uruguay  from  the  same  side. 
At  this  point  the  palm  plains  of  Entre  Eios  terminate  seventy -five 
miles  above  Paisandu.  Eocks  on  both  sides  contract  the  channel, 
making  a  narrow  and  intricate  pass,  known  as  the  Paso  Heredero. 
On  the  left  a  saladero,  and  above,  another  estancia  owned  by  Mr. 
Campbell ;  it  is  stocked  with  a  small  herd  of  cattle  and  30,000 
sheep. 

"  Twenty -five  miles  above  Heredero  Reef  anchored  off  Concor- 
dia in  22  feet  of  water.  This  town,  of  2500  inhabitants,  dates  its 
existence  from  1831,  and  is  the  capital  of  a  department  of  the 
same  name,  which  extends  from  the  Arroyo  Grande  to  Mocorita, 
and  comprehends  ten  judicial  districts.  It  boasts  a  flourishing 
free-school,  established  in  18-47  by  Urquiza.  In  consequence  of 
the  obstruction  to  navigation  offered  by  the  Salto  Grande,  twenty 
miles  above  this,  Concordia  is  the  last  town  in  Entre  Rios  from 
which  an  uninterrupted  river  communication  may  be  maintained 
with  the  cities  of  the  Parana  and  La  Plata,  As  the  shipping  port 
for  the  missiones  and  a  vast  interior  country,  it  has  considerable 
trade..  The  principal  exports  are  hides,  tallow,  and  yerba.  In 
1850  there  was  received  here,  in  transitu  for  other  places,  among 
a  variety  of  articles,  the  following:  10,624  tercias*  of  yerba,  1694 
arobas  of  wool,  1070  cheeses  of  6  lbs.  each,  2643  fanegasf  ot 
salt,  132  pipes  and  54  barrels  of  tallow  and  beef  grease,  1962  aro- 
bas of  horse-hair,  1300  arobas  and  164  barrels  of  rice,  17,272  dry 
hides  of  cattle,  2289  ditto  salted,  2109  hides  of  mares,  1506  quin- 
tals of  jerked  beef. 

"  Three  miles  above,  on  the  opposite  shore,  which  rises  sixty 
feet  above  the  level  of  the  river,  stands  Salto,  the  principal  town 
of  a  department  of  the  same  name.  It  is  rather  a  bustling  place 
of  2800  inhabitants,  and  the  last  port  on  the  Oriental  side  before 
reaching  the  fall.  Between  Concordia  and  Salto,  a  little  above 
the  anchorage  of  the  first  place,  is  a  rocky  ledge,  Coralitas,  which 
endangers  the  navigation  somewhat;  but  between  its  projecting 
rocks  there  is  sufficient  width  and  depth,  even  at  low  water,  for 
any  steamer  or  vessel  that  may  ascend  the  river — that  is,  from 

*  Terdas,  the  hide  sacks  in  which  yerba  is  packed,  containing  8  arobas  of  25 
lbs.  each.  f  A  fanega,  2i  bushels. 


326  SALTO  GRANDE. 

six  to  seven  feet  could  be  carried  with,  safety  to  Salto.  Tlie  least 
depth  we  have  named  continues  but  a  short  time,  and  even  up  to 
this  point  is  increased  by  south  winds.  / 

"  The  exports  of  Salto  would  be  limited  to  a  few  hides  and  a 
small  quantity  of  tallow  but  for  the  products  of  the  interior  coun- 
try, which  are  transported  from  Uruguayana  and  other  Brazilian 
towns  in  carretas  (ox  wagons).  Thirty  thousand  arobas  of  yerba 
are  shipped  annually,  but  it  is  inferior  to  the  Paraguay  leaf. 
This  department  has  suffered  much  from  the  wars  that  have  af- 
flicted this  unfortunate  country,  and  has  now,  including  the  city, 
but  a  population  of  7364  souls.  Statistics  give  the  following  as 
its  stock  in  1852 :  262,000  head  of  cattle,  17,000  horses,  25,000 
mares,  500  mules,  4000  hogs,  118,000  sheep.  There  are  now  404 
pastoral  establishments. 

"Though  the  navigation  of  the  Upper  Uruguay  is  a  question 
of  vital  importance  to  the  inhabitants  upon  its  borders,  I  can  ob- 
tain no  information  as  to  the  condition  of  the  water  upon  the  great 
falls,  and  can  only  guess,  from  a  variety  of  contradictory  state- 
ments, that  vessels  of  light  draught  may  pass  over  them  during 
the  months  of  October  and  November.  The  passage,  even  during 
those  months,  must  be  difficult,  if  not  dangerous,  on  account  of 
the  rapidity  of  the  current.  An  attempt  was  made  in  a  small 
steamer  a  year  or  two  since,  and  in  the  failure,  from  lack  of  pow- 
er in  the  boat,  she  was  near  being  lost. 

"Judging  from  all  that  I  see  and  hear,  the  river  is  too  low  to 
pass  over  the  Salto  Chico  (Little  Fall),  at  this  time  with  the  Wa- 
ter Witch." 

I  engaged  a  boat,  and  proceeded  to  examine  the  Salto  Grande. 
To  avoid  the  current  as  much  as  possible,  we  kept  near  the  Entre 
Eios  shore,  intending  to  return  by  the  channel.  After  a  pull  of 
five  hours  we  reached  the  Salto,  a  picturesque  spot,  but  misnamed 
a  fall.  There  is  no  one  great  perpendicular  descent,  but  for  about 
one  third  of  a  mile  the  river  from  shore  to  shore  presents  a  foam- 
ing surface,  broken  by  verdant  islets  and  innumerable  rocks  of  a 
reddish  sandstone,  over  and  through  which  the  waters  dash  with 
inconceivable  force.  The  rocks  are  of  every  shape  and  size. 
Some  rise  smooth  and  rounded  for  several  feet  above  the  water ; 
others  project  sharply,  presenting  the  most  fantastic  shapes.  The 
rush  and  roar  of  this  mighty  river,  boiling  and  foaming  through 
its  green  pastoral  banks,  was  a  magnificent  spectacle.  The  banks 
on  both  sides  rise  some  thirty  or  forty  feet  above  it,  and  are  skirt- 


DESCENT  OF  THE  RIVER.  327 

ed  with  indifferent  wood,  but  the  want  of  a  nobler  vegetation  is 
supplied  by  the  luxuriance  of  a  number  of  climbing  plants.  The 
hmnid  atmosphere  was  redolent  with  their  delicious  odor,  and  the 
eye  was  charmed  by  the  beauty  of  the  white  trumpet-shaped  flow- 
ers of  an  epiphyte  that  encircled  the  trunks  and  covered  the  limbs 
of  every  dead  tree,  as  if  all  association  of  decay  must  be  banished 
from  the  imposing  features  of  nature  here  presented.  We  found 
a  river  craft,  snugly  moored  out  of  the  influence  of  currents,  at 
the  mouth  of  a  small  arroyo,  where  it  was  quietly  awaiting  a  rise 
of  the  waters.  The  skipper  seemed  to  be  philosophically  indiffer- 
ent as  to  whether  this  would  occur  in  a  week  or  year ;  he  thought 
release  was  possible  in  one  month  by  the  transient  rise  in  June. 
From  that  time  the  Uruguay  fluctuates  until  October,  and  in  No- 
vember has  attained  its  maximum,  after  which  it  falls  rapidly. 
There  must  yet  be  a  rise  of  twenty  feet  to  allow  the  ascent  of 
vessels  of  the  draught  of  the  Water  Witch. 

I  went  on  shore  with  my  gun  ;  saw  deer,  capinchas,  and  many 
partridges.  Nothing  could  exceed  the  amazement  of  the  pilot 
when  I  brought  down  one  of  these  last.  He  looked  at  the  flut- 
tering bird,  then  at  me,  exclaiming,  "  I  have  never  seen  any  thing 
to  equal  that."* 

In  descending  through  the  channel,  the  least  depth  of  water  was 
ten  feet  on  the  Salto  Chico ;  width  of  river  from  a  half  to  three 
quarters  of  a  mile.  Physical  features  of  the  country  on  both 
sides  unchanged — rolling  grass  lands.  We  made,  in  descending, 
the  same  distance  in  two  hours  through  which  it  had  taken  five 
to  ascend.  I  found  that  the  river  had  fallen  fifteen  inches  in 
twenty-six  hours.  It  is  a  little  above  its  ordinary  level,  which 
accounts  for  this  rapid  decrease. 

"Descending,  anchored  off  Concepcion,  that  we  might  obtain 
observations  of  comparison  for  the  chronometers  in  connection 
with  those  made  during  our  ascent. 

"  Stopped  off  Mr.  Campbell's  estancia  to  purchase  espinilla  for 
ship's  use.  This  wood,  sawed  and  split  into  pieces  of  twelve 
inches  by  four,  cost  half  a  cent  each  stick,  of  which  there  were 
about  1600  in  a  cord,  making  $8  per  cord.  Purchased  a  beeve, 
for  which  we  paid  $10,  without  the  hide.  Mr.  Campbell  says 
that  the  interior  streams  are  bordered  by  valuable  woods,  such 
as  quebracho,  curupay,  nandubay,  etc. 

*  The  partridge  is  caught  in  this  country  with  the  lasso,  or  a  small  running 
noose. 


328  IN  THE  MUD. 

"  I  regret  tliat  we  have  no  time  to  examine  the  neighboring 
plains,  which  are  particularly  interesting  from  the  number  and 
character  of  fossils  that  have  been  recently  disimbedded  from 
them.  One — an  osseous-armored  animal,  found  six  feet  below 
the  surface  in  the  banks'  of  a  neighboring  arroyo — must,  I  think, 
from  Mr.  Campbell's  description,  be  a  gigantic  prototype  of  the 
armadillo.  I  hope,  before  leaving  La  Plata,  to  be  able  to  give 
some  attention  to  this  subject;  but  the  more  important  objects 
of  the  expedition  must  first  be  carried  out. 

"  Anchored  off  Frey  Bentos ;  or  rather,  unintentionally,  laid 
the  "Water  Witch  on  a  mud-bank,  by  leaving  the  channel  to  make 
a  detailed  survey  in  crossing  from  the  Banda  Oriental  side  to  the 
mouth  of  the  Gualaguaychu.  As  bad  luck  would  have  it,  we  have 
one  of  those  northeast  winds,  which  at  times  leave  little  water  in 
the  river,  and  our  craft  is  as  snug  in  two  feet  of  mud  as  if  in 
dock ;  while  we  go  on  with  the  designed  work  in  boats,  calcu- 
lating from  the  law  of  probabilities  that  by  the  time  it  is  finish- 
ed, if  not  before,  the  wind  will  haul  south.  The  result  of  this 
survey  was  a  good  channel  of  ten  feet,  to  within  two  miles  of  the 
mouth  of  the  Gualaguaychu. 

"While  in  the  mud  we  have  had  a  striking  instance  of  the  effects 
of  southerly  winds  upon  the  tide,  or  flow  of  water  in  this  river. 
The  wind  for  four  days  has  been  blowing  northeast.  Hauling 
suddenly  to  southwest,  in  one  hour  the  water  rose  three  feet. 
This  change  is  caused  more  by  the  removal  of  a  pressure  driving 
the  waters  out  than  from  a  power  forcing  them  in ;  for  it  is  a 
southeaster  that  produces  the  greatest  and  most  sudden  rise. 
Above  Concepcion  the  river  rises  twenty -four  feet,  a  height  main- 
tained but  a  short  time  because  of  the  greatly -increased  width 
below  and  its  approach  to  La  Plata.  As  an  illustration  of  the  in- 
fluence of  the  tide,  I  may  state  that  I  find  on  the  Paso  de  Tala, 
a  distance  of  one  hundred  and  ten  miles  below  Salto,  one  foot 
greater  depth  of  water  than  when  we  ascended,  notwithstanding 
the  fall  at  the  latter  point  of  four  feet  during  the  three  days  that 
I  remained. 

"  Anchored  off  the  Eio  Negro  ;  having  sent  Mr.  Henry  to  run 
out  a  supposed  channel  along  the  Banda  Oriental  shore  from 
Frey  Bentos  to  this  point.  He  found  it  direct  and  often  feet, 
making  three  in  this  reach  of  the  river ;  the  one  best  adapted  to 
large  vessels  being  near  the  Entre  Eios  shore. 

"  Accompanied  by  Mr.  Murdaugh,  I  left  the  steamer  to  make  a 


FOSSILS.  g29 

track  survey  of  the  Eio  Negro  to  Mercedes.  Five  miles  from  its 
mouth  passed  Soriana,  a  small  town  on  the  left  bank.  Encamp- 
ed for  the  night  at  Port  Cerito.  While  the  men  were  pitching 
their  tents  we  started  over  the  plains  with  our  guns ;  saw  many 
partridges ;  supped  on  '  hard  tack,'  made  soft  by  soaking ;  found 
shawl  and  poncho  no  effectual  protection  against  damp  grass  and 
the  chilliness  of  the  night.  At  early  dawn  again  on  the  move, 
and  reached  Mercedes  at  meridian." 

This  town  of  7000  inhabitants  stands  on  high  land  about  half 
a  mile  from  the  river,  and  presented  the  most  attractive  appear- 
ance as  we  approached.  Above  it  the  Rio  Negro  is  not  naviga- 
ble ;  but  up  to  this  place  we  found  a  channel  of  seven  feet,  which 
is  increased  to  ten  by  a  south  wind ;  width  of  river  from  three 
quarters  to  one  mile. 

The  vast  growth  of  sarsaparilla  upon  the  borders  of  this  river 
discolors  its  waters,  and  imparts  to  them  at  the  same  time  such 
medicinal  properties  that  invalids  resort  to  Mercedes  for  the 
benefit  of  their  curative  power.  Here,  as  elsewhere  in  all  this 
country,  the  principal  exports  are  hides  and  jerked  beef;  lime 
and  fire-wood,  in  small  quantities,  are  sent  to  Buenos  Ayres. 

"  We  spent  the  afternoon  in  riding  over  the  neighboring  plains. 
Soil  a  tenacious  black  loam;  grass  vigorous.  We  saw  neither 
cattle  nor  cultivation ;  and  every  where  in  this  unfortunate  coun- 
try we  hear  the  same  story :  '  Civil  wars  have  desolated  and  de- 
populated it.' 

"  The  number  of  gigantic  quadrupeds  imbedded  in  these  plains 
is  extraordinary.  Mr.  Stoddard,  an  English  gentleman  residing 
at  Mercedes,  has  made  a  valuable  collection,  which  includes  what 
he  supposes  to  be  a  glyptodon,  and  many  very  perfect  parts  of  a 
megathereum.  The  developments  that  have  been  more  recently 
made  fully  sustain  Darnin  in  saying,  that  '  the  number  of  the  re- 
mains imbedded  in  the  grand  estuary  deposit  which  forms  the 
pampas  and  covers  the  granite  rocks  of  the  Banda  Oriental  must 
be  extraordinarily  great.'  * 

"  Another  individual  of  this  place  tells  me  of  a  fine  collection 
of  petrifactions  found  in  the  neighborhood — a  horse's  hoof,  cow 
dung,  birds'  eggs ;  and  on  the  Gualaguaychu  trunks,  branches  of 
silicified  trees  are  found,  exhibiting  every  stage  of  petrescence." 

Having  accomplished  the  object  of  our  visit  to  Mercedes,  we 
proceeded  to  Higueritas,  where  a  more  detailed  survey  was  made 

*  Darnin,  vol.  i.,  p.  199. 


330  STATE  OF  ENTEE  RIOS. 

of  the  ancliorage.     From  thence  I  once  more  returned  to  Buenos 
Ayres,  and  prepared  for  an  exploration  of  the  Salado. 

It  will  be  seen  that  to  Salto,  fifteen  miles  below  the  Great  Fall, 
and  two  hundred  and  ninety  from  Martin  Garcia,  we  ascended 
the  Uruguay  in  the  Water  Witch  at  the  season  of  low  water.  It 
therefore  may  be  inferred  that  the  ascent  of  this  river  is  easy  and 
practicable  at  all  times  to  vessels  of  nine  feet  draught.  In  the 
upper  part  there  is  a  slight  current ;  but  that  is  often  neutralized 
by  the  flood  tide,  which  is  perceptible  with  every  south  wind. 
Its  channel,  though  not  so  well  defined  as  that  of  the  Parana,  is 
not  changed  by  every  inundation,  and  is  wide  enough  to  admit 
of  vessels  beating  up  and  down.  By  a  short  canal,  of  about  three 
locks,  the  navigation  of  this  noble  river  could  be  opened  several 
hundred  miles  beyond  the  Salto  Grande,  where  it  flows  through 
a  fertile  and  comparatively  populous  country.  Numerous  islands 
and  islets  of  every  size  and  form  rise  many  feet  above  the  high- 
est water  level,  but  add  little  to  its  beauty.  Many  of  them  ex- 
tend for  miles,  and  intercept  entirely  a  view  of  the  main  land ; 
but  they  are  without  the  splendid  vegetation,  the  brilliant  flora, 
that  render  so  enchantingly  beautiful  those  of  the  Parana  Archi- 
pelago. With  the  exception  of  the  willow  and  peach,  their  growth 
is  generally  shrubby,  and,  so  far  as  I  could  judge,  valueless. 

For  half  a  century  the  Banda  Oriental,  with  few  intervals  of 
peace,  has  been  afflicted  by  calamitous  wars,  civil  and  foreign. 
The  decrease  of  cattle — its  only  source  of  wealth — is  enormous ; 
and  the  condition  of  its  territory  upon  the  Uruguay,  as  compared 
with  that  of  Entre  Eios  opposite,  offered  the  most  impressive 
illustration  of  the  influence  of  peace  and  just  government  upon 
the  progress  of  these  countries.  Entre  Eios,  in  the  revolutionary 
struggle,  was  devastated  by  Artigas;  and  as  a  neighboring  state 
it  has  suffered  from  the  occupation  of  the  Banda  Oriental  by 
Brazil.  At  the  period  of  our  visit  but  two  years  had  elapsed 
since  the  opening  of  the  rivers  to  foreign  commerce,  and  the 
establishment  of  the  Argentine  Confederation  under  a  constitu- 
tional government ;  but  in  this  short  time  the  towns  of  this  state, 
upon  the  Uruguay,  like  those  of  the  Parana,  had  doubled  their 
population ;  free-schools,  and  a  college  were  flourishing ;  estancias 
were  numerous  and  well  stocked;  ships  were  loading  for  Euro- 
pean ports;  and  with  the  continuance  of  peace  Entre  Eios  is 
destined  to  be  one  of  the  most  prosperous  states  in  La  Plata. 
Throughout  its  length  and  breadth  it  has  not  an  infertile  or  insa- 


THE  GAUCHOS.  331 

lubrious  district ;  it  is  intersected  by  numerous  perennial  streams, 
tributaries  to  the  Parana  and  Uruguay — the  central  lines  of  com- 
munication with  the  Atlantic.  Nature  unaided  produces  fine 
pastures ;  and  the  luxuriant  herbage  is  but  the  covering  of  a  vast 
gold  mine — a  varied  and  productive  soil.  Formerly  the  wealth 
of  the  estanciero  consisted  entirely  in  herds  of  horned  cattle ;  but 
this  property  is  easily  appropriated  in  time  of  war ;  and  many  of 
them,  having  suffered  severe  losses,  have  of  late  years  given  much 
attention  to  the  rearing  of  sheep,  which  is  attended  with  such 
success  that  wool  is,  or  will  become  soon,  a  staple.  To  the  gau- 
cho  soldier  carnero  (mutton)  is  not  came  (beef) ;  neither  is  the 
skin  of  the  former  so  available  as  the  hide  of  the  latter  to  the 
commanding  general,  who  enters  the  war  poor,  and  leaves  it  rich, 
by  possessing  himself  of  the  herds  of  some  individual  of  the  oppo- 
site party. 

The  grazing  farms  {establicimenios  pastoros)  are  generally  owned 
by  capitalists,  who  leave  the  entire  management  of  their  estates 
each  to  a  capitaz,  who  lives  in  a  thatched  hut,  with  no  comforts 
— not  even  those  for  the  table  that  might  be  derived  from  the 
rudest  culture  of  the  soil.  A  few  proprietors  reside  upon  their 
estancias,  in  excellent  adobe  houses,  and  possess  generally  great 
popularity  and  influence  over  the  gauchos,  the  only  laborers  of 
the  Eiverine  Provinces.  Muscular  and  athletic,  scarcely  a  shade 
hghter  than  the  Indian,  with  long  uncombed  black  locks,  the 
appearance  of  the  gaucho  in  his  picturesque  costume  is  unposing. 
When  we  glance  at  the  training  of  these  men,  and  know  that  in 
the  military  agitations  of  the  country  they  are  the  soldiers,  and 
that  many  of  the  chieftains  who  have  figured  prominently  in  the 
strifes  of  the  land  belong  to  this  class,  we  cease  to  be  astonished 
at  the  sanguinary  character  of  their  contests.  The  whole  educa- 
tion of  the  gaucho  is  physical.  The  long  sheath-knife — the  toy 
of  his  infancy — is  the  prized  weapon  of  his  matured  years ;  the 
pastimes  of  youth  are  feats  of  horsemanship,  trials  of  skill  with 
the  lasso  and  bolas ;  the  most  peaceful  occupation  of  his  manhood 
is  to  figure  in  the  spectacles  of  the  country — the  corrals — as  a 
"  domador"  or  marker  of  cattle,  or  to  be  an  active  laborer  in  its 
only  industrial  establishments,  saladeros.  Such  pursuits  leave 
their  mark.  Many  of  them  become  imbued  with  a  brutal  ferocity 
— a  fearful  indifference  to  the  shedding  of  blood,  which  exhibits 
itself  in  the  atrocities  that  characterize  the  civil  wars  of  La  Plata. 


332  EXPLORATION  OF  THE  SALADO. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

Chartering  of  the  little  Steamer. — Arrival  at  Santa  Fe. — Province  of  Santa  Fe. — 
Civil  Wars  and  Independence. — Wood. — Ascent  of  the  River. — Animal  Life. — 
Ducks,  Jaguars,  Capibaras,  and  Armadillos. — The  Diver,  Podiceps  leucopterus. — 
Planting  of  sweet  Potatoes. — The  Crucito. — The  Saladito. — La  Cruz. — The  Bed 
of  a  Lagoon. — Monte  Aguara. — The  Retiu-n. — Current  and  Width  of  the  River. — 
The  Jaguar. — Density  of  the  Salado  Water. — Journey  by  Land  to  the  upper  Wa- 
ters.— A  Tatu. — Quebracho. — The  Mirage. — The  surly  Officer. — The  Tongue  of 
the  taciturn  Argentino  loosened. — The  Seguudo. — Tio  or  Concepcion. — Algor- 
roba  and  Soil. — Arrival  at  Cordova. — List  of  Distances. 

Immediately  on  my  return  I  cliartered  from  the  agent  of  the 
American  and  Paraguay  Company  a  small  steamer,  which  had 
been  shipped  from  the  United  States  in  detached  pieces,  and  was 
now  being  put  together  in  the  "  Tigre"  for  the  purpose  of  explor- 
ing the  Salado.*  Her  length  was  112  feet,  draught  26  inches, 
with  all  on  board — twenty-five  souls,  two  months'  provisions,  six 
tons  of  coal,  and  two  cords  of  wood. 

On  the  first  day  of  July,  as  she  was  in  a  running  condition,  and 
her  accommodations  sufiiciently  advanced  to  afford  protection  from 
the  weather,  I  took  possession  of  her,  and  on  the  2d  started  for 
the  scene  of  our  future  operations,  accompanied  by  the  following 
officers :  Acting  Lieutenants  William  L.  Powell  and  W.  H.  Mur- 
daugh,  Assistant  Surgeon  Robert  Carter,  Assistant  Engineer  T.  B. 
C.  Stump,  and  a  crew  of  twenty  men. 

Previous  to  this  move  the  entrance  to  the  Palma  Pass  had  been 
surveyed,  and  to  Lieutenant  Jeffers  was  assigned  the  charge  of  the 
Water  Witch,  with  instructions  to  complete  the  work  at  Martin 
Garcia,  the  result  of  which  has  already  been  given. 

We  proceeded  through  the  Arroyo  Capitan,  the  Palma  Pass, 
and  Baradero,  which,  in  connection  with  the  work  subsequently 
done  by  Lieutenant  Powell  on  his  return  in  the  Yerba,  completed 
the  survey  of  the  various  branches  of  the  Parana  within  its  delta 
to  the  town  of  Santa  Fe,  the  starting-point  of  our  Salado  expedi- 
tion. 

Our  arrival  quite  disturbed  the  quietude  of  Santa  Fe,  and  ex- 
cited a  vast  deal  of  enthusiasm ;  for,  should  the  Salado  prove  nav- 
*  The  Salado,  that  empties  into  the  Parana  at  Santa  Fe. 


SANTA  FE.  '  333 

igable  to  tlie  western  provinces,  great  prosperity  miglit  be  antici- 
pated for  this  town  and  province.  To  verify  the  predictions  of 
some  and  realize  the  hopes  of  others  depended  upon  contingencies 
in  the  future  of  the  work  that  gave  rise  to  endless  speculation. 
Our  reception,  both  by  officials  and  individuals,  was  very  flatter- 
ing, but  none  could  give  us  any  information  as  to  the  state  of  the 
river ;  indeed,  all  accounts  were  discouraging.  We  were  told  by 
those  who  were  supposed  to  be  the  best  informed  that  we  might 
possibly  ascend  about  45  miles ;  by  some  that  it  was  no  river ; 
and  by  others  that  it  took  its  rise  in  one  of  the  numerous  lakes  in 
that  region  of  country. 

We  dined  with  the  governor,  and  accompanied  his  family  to  a 
ball,  where  we  were  agreeably  impressed  with  the  tact  and  good 
breeding  of  the  men  and  women.  The  latter  were  generally 
handsome  and  well  dressed,  and  danced  with  the  inimitable  grace 
and  precision  which  I  have  alluded  to  as  distinguishing  their  coun- 
trywomen. 

At  the  period  of  our  visit  the  aspect  of  Santa  Fe  was  rather  des- 
olate, for  both  country  and  city  had  suffered  in  years  past  from 
the  hostilities  of  the  Chaco  Indians,  and  the  latter  was  not  yet, 
like  its  neighbor  Eosario,  revivified  by  the  opening  of  the  rivers. 
Before  the  Revolution  this  province  was  considered  as  forming 
part  of  the  jurisdiction  of  Buenos  Ayres,  and  as  no  expense  was 
spared  in  protecting  it  from  the  incursions  of  the  savages  by  forts 
adequately  garrisoned,  it  was  one  of  the  most  prosperous  towns  in 
the  viceroyalty,  a  point  of  distribution  not  only  for  the  products 
of  the  west  and  northwest,  but  of  Corrientes  and  Paraguay,  for 
Chih  and  Peru.  Its  estancieros  alone,  from  their  herds  in  this  and 
the  province  of  Entre  Rios,  were  able  to  furnish  50,000  mules  an- 
nually for  the  Alto  Peruvian  market,  and  the  amount  of  one  item, 
yerba,  received  in  transitu,  reached  125,000  arobas. 

In  the  civil  wars  which  distracted  the  country  after  its  separa- 
tion from  Spain,  Santa  Fe  declared  itself  independent  of  the  cen- 
tral government,  and  drew  the  line  of  division  at  the  Arroyo  del 
Medio. 

But  by  this  act  was  sown  the  germ  of  its  decadence,  for  to 
maintain  garrisons  and  establish  posts  for  the  protection  of  a  long 
line  of  frontier,  as  well  as  to  guard  against  invasion  from  other 
quarters,  were  more  than  the  resources  of  the  new  state  would  ad- 
mit of  Outposts  were  driven  in  from  time  to  time,  estancias,  the 
richest  in  La  Plata,  were  robbed  of  cattle  and  deserted  by  their 


334  ASCENT  OF  THE  SALADO. 

owners,  while,  emboldened  by  success,  the  Indians  at  last  advanced 
to  the  vicinity  of  the  town,  and  on  several  occasions  entered  it 
and  committed  horrible  excesses.  The  finest  districts  of  the  coun- 
try were  finally  abandoned,  and  the  whole  population  of  the  state 
reduced  to  about  sixteen  or  twenty  thousand  souls,  of  which  the 
towns  of  Rosario  and  Santa  Fe  embraced  nearly  one  half  within 
their  limits,  the  former  containing  about  8000  and  the  latter  6000 
souls. 

The  position  of  Santa  Fe,  on  an  arm  of  the  Parana,  makes  it 
less  accessible  to  sailing  vessels  than  other  towns  of  that  river. 
But  all  difficulties  will  be  obviated  by  the  introduction  of  steam- 
ers of  suitable  construction ;  and  now  that  the  navigability  of  the 
Salado  for  900  miles  is  established,  its  facilities  for  communica- 
tion with  the  western  states  are  so  increased  that  it  must  not 
only  re-attain  its  old.  prosperity  and  consideration,  but  become  the 
rival  of  its  neighbor  Eosario,  which  is  now  the  emporium  of  trade 
in  the  Confederation.  The  same  elements  that  have  so  far  ex- 
panded and  enlivened  the  once  contracted  and  silent  streets  of  the 
latter  will  also  build  up  the  vacant  squares  of  this  town,  and  line 
its  bold  water-front  with  store-houses  for  the  receipt  and  dispatch 
of  the  products  of  the  country. 

To  obtain  the  necessary  fuel  for  our  craft  we  were  obliged  to 
intercept,  early  in  the  morning,  carts  bringing  in  the  daily  sup- 
ply ;  which  sometimes  embarrassed,  I  fear,  the  domestic  economy 
of  many  a  housewife,  who  doubtless  wished  us,  in  return,  a  speedy 
departure.  This  wood,  principally  algorroba,  was  bought  for  half 
the  price  paid  at  other  parts  of  the  Parana. 

On  the  13th  July,  1855,  with  the  governor,  his  family,  and  a 
few  friends  on  board,  who  desired  to  accompany  us  a  short  dis- 
tance, we  commenced  our  ascent  of  the  Salado. 

Although  it  was  the  season  of  low  water,  the  river,  for  some 
miles  above  its  mouth,  was  very  full,  and  the  low  lands  on  either 
side  inundated.  Its  width  was  from  one  to  two  hundred  feet; 
depth,  twelve  to  eighteen ;  current,  about  one  and  a  half  miles  the 
hour;  windings  between  any  two  points  equal  to  four  times  the 
distance  on  a  straight  line ;  banks  well  wooded  with  algorroba. 

We  had  gone,  by  the  course  of  the  river,  about  eighteen  miles, 
when,  coming  to  a  point  at  which  the  governor  had  ordered  con- 
veyances, we  parted  with  our  guests,  and,  cheered  by  a  bright, 
pleasant  morning,  were  now  fairly  under  way. 

'''■July  16.  By  the  course  of  the  river  we  have  advanced  75 


THE  PAMPAS  OF  THE  CHACO.  335 

miles,  and  are  near  the  last  frontier  post  of  Santa  Fe,  distant,  in  a 
direct  line  from  the  city,  20  miles.  Passing  this  point,  all  civili- 
zation is  behind  us ;  we  are  entering  the  undisturbed  possessions 
of  the  Chaco  tribes.  The  river  presents  a  more  decided  and  de- 
fined character,  with  a  gradual  diminution  of  current,  which  arises 
from  the  fact  that  it  is  here  supplied  only  by  its  main  source  and 
tributaries,  without  the  additional  discharge  of  numerous  over- 
flowing lakes.  It  courses  through  a  bottom  or  flat,  from  one  to 
four  miles  in  breadth,  in  some  places  sparsely  and  in  others  dense- 
ly wooded.  The  banks  rise  from  twenty  to  fifty  feet,  to  the  level 
of  a  pampa,  which  presents  a  vast  grassy  expanse  without  any  in- 
equalities of  surface.  As  the  eye  wanders  over  it,  a  dark  wavy 
line  in  the  distance  alone  breaks  the  monotony  of  the  plain,  and 
marks  the  windings  of  the  Salado  with  its  fringing  of  algorroba. 

"Although  we  are  but  little  more  than  twenty  miles  from  a 
town  of  five  thousand  inhabitants,  there  is  not  a  vestige  of  civili- 
zation or  the  track  of  a  human  being ;  even  the  footprint  of  an 
Indian  is  nowhere  visible ;  but  the  manifestations  of  animal  life 
are  extraordinary.  Eiver  and  plain  are  enlivened  by  fowl  and 
quadruped  in  endless  variety.  It  is  the  domain  of  the  jaguar,  the 
shielded  armadillo,  ducks,  geese,  flocks  of  the  black-necked  swan, 
plover  of  different  species,  partridges,  pigeons  of  extraordinary 
size,  the  guanaco,  the  ostrich,  the  hare,  the  deer,  the  clumsy  capi- 
bara ;  while  the  waters  teem  with  fish  and  the  air  is  darkened  by 
flocks  of  the  small  white  gull. 

"  We  occasionally  rob  the  nests  of  ducks  and  geese.  Having 
taken  some  of  the  first  in  the  moulting  state,  it  gave  rise  to  an 
amusing  discussion  among  the  officers ;  some  contending  that 
they  were  pichones  (young  ones) ;  but  when  they  were  served 
up  for  dinner  the  impossibility  of  masticating  the  most  delicate 
morsels  decided  the  question.  It  is  our  habit  to  stop  before  sun- 
set for  wood ;  and  so  abundant  is  the  growth  that  in  two  hours 
our  axemen  obtain  an  ample  supply  of  the  best  algorroba  for 
the  next  day's  work.  These  are  also  our  opportunities  for  bo- 
tanic and  zoological  research. 

"  July  18.  "While  getting  up  steam  at  an  early  hour,  I  strolled 
a  short  distance  inland  and  shot  some  partridges.  The  pampa  is 
now  broken  by  lagoons  dotted  with  islets  and  gay  with  water- 
fowl. Up  to  this  point,  we  are  distant,  by  observation,  from 
Santa  Fe — in  a  right  line  bearing  south  by  east — thirty-three 
miles ;  and  by  the  river  one  hundred  and  fifty — which  will  give 


336  THE  SAL  ADO. 

some  idea  of  its  windings.  A  heavy  frost  this  morning  covered 
the  ground  hke  a  fall  of  snow.  Thermometer,  at  4  A.M.,  35°. 
By  the  gauge  we  find  the  water  has  fallen,  in  the  last  twelve 
hours,  only  one  inch. 

^'■July  19.  The  pampa  is  belted  by  lofty  trees,  generally  que- 
bracho, and  slopes  gently  to  the  'bottom,'  which  is  now  narrowed 
to  half  a  mile  on  either  side  of  the  river.  There  is  no  under- 
growth, the  grass  is  fresh  and  green,  and  no  meadow  could  pre- 
sent a  more  refreshing  aspect.  It  is  the  second  winter  month, 
but  the  air  is  soft  and  balmy  as  a  May  day  in  temperate  zones. 
The  river  and  land  still  teem  with  animal  life,  and  yet  we  can  not 
trace  a  -sign  of  human  occupation. 

^'- July  20th.  Eiver  less  tortuous;  depth  from  fifteen  to  eighteen 
feet.  Passed  an  arroyo  on  the  right  bank,  which  runs  through  a 
broad  flat,  extending  north  and  west ;  water  too  brackish  to  be 
drinkable.  At  the  junction  of  this  little  stream  the  Salado  washes 
the  base  of  the  high  land,  here  densely  wooded ;  the  banks  show 
a  stratum  of  yellow  clay  resting  on  tosca,  and  above,  a  surface-soil 
of  rich  vegetable  earth  from  two  to  four  feet  in  depth.  The 
river  has  fallen  within  the  last  twelve  hours  six  inches — very  dif- 
ferent from  its  state  a  few  days  past ;  for  there  are  now  but  few 
lagoons  to  feed  it.  Its  windings  carry  us  quite  round  the  compass. 
Passed  what  I  supposed  to  be  an  arroyo  on  the  left  bank ;  but 
on  rounding  a  bend  of  about  three  miles,  which  brought  us  nearly 
back  to  the  same  point,  found  it  nothing  more  than  a  '  break 
through'  of  the  main  river,  which  will  doubtless  become  soon  the 
principal  channel.  The  distance  across,  through  which  it  had 
made  its  way,  is  not  more  than  one  hundred  yards; 

"  Opening,  at  the  season  of  low  water,  canals  across  the  various 
necks  of  land,  would  shorten  the  distance  quite  one  third ;  for, 
with  the  least  excavation  imaginable,  the  Salado  would  in  a  short 
time  make  for  itself  a  new  and  more  direct  channel.  Passed  the 
Esquina  Grande,  where  stood  in  former  days  a  Spanish  fort,  not 
a  vestige  of  which  now  remains.  We  continue  to  see  deer,  cap- 
inchas,  geese,  ducks,  plover,  snipe,  in  vast  numbers.  Among  the 
ducks  was  a  beautiful  diver,  the  Podiceps  leucopterus^  that  attracted 
our  admiration  and  particular  notice.  It  carries  its  young  upon 
its  back ;  and  it  was  amusing  to  see  the  little  creatures  dive,  and, 
on  rising  to  the  surface,  again  resume  their  place  upon  the  ma- 
ternal back.  Here  are  evidences  that  the  river  has  fallen  from 
the  highest  point  about  six  feet,  and  stiU  we  find  a  depth  of  fif- 


THE  SALADITO.  337 

teen  ;  banks  from  five  to  eight  feet  in  height,  with  indications  of 
overflow  ;  current  one  mile  ;  average  width  one  hundred  feet. 

"  Saw  a  large  herd  of  wild  horses.  Affrighted  by  the  appear- 
ance of  the  steamer,  and  perhaps  still  more  by  the  noise  of  our 
high-pressure  engine,  they  dashed  over  the  plains  as  if  mad,  and 
were  soon  hid  among  the  algorrobas.  We  have  seen  no  Indians, 
and  no  immediate  trace  of  them,  save  a  well  of  fresh  water  not 
far  from  the  bank,  and  evidently  not  very  recently  dug.  I  have 
left  my  mark  in  this  country  by  planting  a  few  orange  seeds  and 
some  sweet  potatoes.  Soil  a  dark  alluvium,  with  a  rich  growth 
of  grass ;  the  water  is  more  brackish  as  we  progress. 

"  July  23d  During  the  last  twelve  hours  the  river  has  fallen 
five  inches.'  The  frost  this  morning  again  covered  the  plain  like 
snow.  Thermometer  during  the  night  29° ;  at  7  A.M.,  32° ;  at 
8,  42°  ;  at  12  M.,  60° ;  at  4  P.M.,  58°  ;  at  8  P.M.,  52° ;  at  mid- 
night 41°.  The  least  depth,  up  to  meridian,  nine  feet ;  but  be- 
fore the  close  of  the  day's  run  we  had  as  little  as  five,  with  a  tosca 
bottom.  I  fear  that  I  shall  be  compelled  to  retrace  my  steps  much 
sooner  than  I  had  anticipated.  I  was  aware  that  it  was  the  period 
of  low  water ;  but  the  inundated  banks  near  the  mouth  of  the 
Salado  induced  the  hope  that  an  extraordinary  season  had  kept 
up  a  supply.  We  are  about  seventy-five  miles  in  a  right  line 
from  Santa  F4  bearing  S.  by  E.,  and  three  hundred  by  the  river. 
Its  course  is  now  less  tortuous,  and  as  we  ascend,  the  navigation 
is  not  so  impeded,  and  the  '  bottom'  narrowed  by  the  approach 
on  either  side  of  the  more  elevated  lands  of  the  pampa. 

"  July  24:lh.  The  river  has  fallen  in  the  past  twelve  hours  three 
and  a  half  inches  ;  twenty-four  hours  previously  within  the  same 
time  it  fell  five  inches.  From  the  right  a  small  stream,  the  Cru- 
odto,  flows  into  the  Salado ;  water  dark,  but  clear  and  sweet. 
Pulled  up  it  in  a  boat  half  .a  mile.  It  is  very  narrow,  with  five 
feet  depth,  and  is  doubtless  the  outlet  of  some  lake — probably  the 
Porongas.  Before  the  close  of  the  day  had  but  four  feet  water, 
muddy  bottom ;  river  inclines  more  to  the  northwest,  and  is  less 
tortuous ;  banks  well  wooded  with  algorroba.  Were  the  river 
not  falhng,  I  should  feel  much  encouraged  to  proceed  with  this 
exploration,  for  I  am  more  and  more  impressed  with  the  belief 
that  it  is  a  channel  of  vast  importance.  Made  fast  to  the  right 
bank  near  the  mouth  of  a  small  stream  of  turbid,  brackish  water, 
which  I  called  Scdadito  (little  Salado).  Pulled  up  it  a  mile  or 
two ;  found  a  depth  of  three  feet  and  considerable  current.     It  is 

22 


338  EIVER  FALLING. 

undoubtedly  fhe  outpouring  of  some  saline  lake.  At  its  junction 
there  were  myriads  of  cat-fisli,  of  which  the  men  at  one  haul  with 
our  net  filled  the  little  boat.  Near  the  same  point  were  countless 
numbers  of  small  white  gulls.  Position  of  the  mouth  of  the  Sal- 
adito,  latitude  30°  14' ;  longitude  60°  41'  W. ;  variation  9°  ;  dis- 
tant from  Sante  Fe  eighty-five  miles  m  a  right  line,  by  the  river 
840. 

"  July  25th.  At  6  A.M.,  thermometer  38°.  Eiver  has  fallen  in 
the  last  twelve  hours  half  an  inch ;  this  gives  me  hope  that  it  has 
reached  its  lowest  point  here  and  above.  There  was  ice  this 
morning.     Thermometer  at  4h.  81°  ;  at  8h.  87°. 

"  The  men  amused  themselves  with  setting  fire  to  the  grass  to 
give  the  immigrants  next  year  richer  pasturage. 

"  A  mile  or  two  above  the  Saladito  came  to  the  mouth  of  an- 
other small  tributary  from  the  same  bank,  which  at  first  per- 
plexed me,  for  I  was  in  doubt  as  to  which  was  the  principal  river. 
I  pulled  up  it  a  mile  or  more ;  found  it  very  narrow,  with  some 
current ;  water  dark  and  sweet,  from  which  I  concluded  that  it 
could  not  be  the  Salado,  but  '  La  Cruz'  (the  Cross).  We  continu- 
ed to  ascend  what  I  considered  the  main  river,  having  a  slight 
decrease  in  the  depth  and  a  width  less  than  the  length  of  the 
steamer.  I  took  a  small  boat  and  pulled  ahead  a  few  miles.  The 
water  was  as  salt  as  that  of  the  ocean,  and  its  general  characteris-. 
tics  satisfied  me  that  it  was  the  veritable  Salado.  I  mounted  the 
bank' — here  fifteen  feet  to  the  level  of  the  pampa ;  observed  a 
lake  or  river  in  the  distance,  and,  approaching,  found  that  it  was 
the  dry  bed  of  a  lagoon,  now  covered  with  a  saline  efflorescence 
which  sparkled  and  shone  like  a  sheet  of  beautiful  water.  As 
far  as  the  eye  could  reach  the  monotony  of  the  pampa  was  broken 
by  two  wooded  belts,  one  extending  north,  the  other  west.  The 
first  I  believe  to  be  the  course  of  the  Salado,  the  other  of  La 
Cruz.     I  proceed  north  with  the  steamer. 

'■'■Juhj  1'otli.  In  the  last  fifteen  hours  the  water  has  fallen  three 
and  a  half  inches.  Not  very  encouraging,  but  we  go  ahead. 
Have  advanced  eight  miles ;  depth  decreasing ;  took  to  the  little 
boat ;  pulled  up  two  miles ;  found  only  two  and  a  half  feet,  and 
the  obstruction  of  a  fallen  algorroba,  which  will  interrupt  the  pas- 
sage of  the  boat.  This  should  not  prove  an  insurmountable  ob- 
struction had  the  river  ceased  falhng,  or  were  there  water  enough 
beyond.  Indeed,  neither  of  these  difficulties  should  turn  me  back 
did  I  not  hold  the  '  Yerba'  under  a  contract  by  which  I  am  to  re- 


LIMIT  OF  THE  EXPLORATION.  339 

turn  "her  in  little  more  than  one  month.  I  should,  under  other 
circumstances,  remain  here  until  the  rise,  which  should  begin  in 
November,  and  may  be  hastened  by  local  rains. 

"  This  point — Monte  Aguara — must  then  be  the  extent  of  the 
exploration  in  the  Salado  with  the  steamer  Yerba.  It  is  in  lati- 
tude 31°  10'  60"  south,  longitude  60°  38'  47"  west;  distant  from 
Santa  Fe  by  river  340  miles,  and  in  a  right  line  96.  On  the 
right  bank,  which  rises  about  twenty  feet  to  a  wooded  skirt,  stands 
a  large  guaranina-tree.  On  this  we  cut  a  cross  and  the  letters  TJ. 
S.,  and  about  ten  feet  from  it  buried  a  bottle  containing  latitude, 
longitude,  names  of  officers  and  steamer. 

"  With  regret  I  retrace  my  steps ;  but  in  ascending  and  demon- 
strating the  navigability  of  the  Salado  to  Monte  Aguara  we  have 
achieved  something.  Its  uniform  character,  unchanging  course, 
and  well-defined  banks ;  its  rise,  as  indicated  by  marks  on  trees ; 
the  unbroken  plain  through  which  it  flows,  all  induce  the  belief 
that  it  is  a  river  capable  of  being  navigated  to  a  great  distance  be- 
yond the  point  reached.  Its  complete  exploration  is  of  import- 
ance, not  only  to  the  Argentine  Confederation,  but  to  the  whole 
commercial  world. 

"  To  set  at  rest  all  doubt  as  to  its  navigability  I  will  return  to 
Santa  Fe,  and  by  land  proceed  to  some  point  in  the  Province  of 
Santiago,  from  which  I  can  descend  by  some  means  to  Monte 
Aguara." 

It  will  have  been  seen  by  these  extracts  from  my  journal  that, 
when  scarce  beyond  the  smoke  of  Santa  Fe,  we  had  passed  every 
habitation  of  man,  even  the  scattered  huts  of  a  few  charcoal-burn- 
ers, and  entered  the  domain  of  those  fierce  aboriginals  of  the  Cha- 
co,  the  Indian  and  the  jaguar;  that  we  followed  the  windings  of 
a  navigable  river  for  three  hundred  and  forty  miles  in  a  steamer 
of  two  feet  draught  without  meeting  with  even  the  obstruction  of 
a  fallen  tree ;  that  the  pampa  rises  from  twenty  to  fifty  feet  above 
the  "  flat"  through  which  the  Salado  flows,  presenting  at  times  a 
boundless  plain,  over  which  the  eye  wanders  without  discerning 
the  slightest  inequality  of  surface.  Again,  after  penetrating 
through  a  magnificent  bordering  of  quebracho  or  algorroba,  we 
find  the  interior  country  diversified  by  park-like  groupings  of  al- 
gorroba, by  the  wooded  belting  of  some  tributary  stream,  or  by 
lakes  and  salinas,  the  first  darkened  by  myriads  of  water-fowl, 
while  the  latter  are  glistening  in  the  sun  with  saline  efflorescence. 

We  found  at  tunes  little  or  no  current;  the  least  depth  was 


340  SHOOTING  A  JAGUAR. 

thirty  inches  when  the  water  had  ceased  falling ;  and  its  greatest 
rise,  as  indicated  bj  marks  on  the  bank,  was  twelve  feet.  Its 
width  did  not  much  exceed  thirty  yards,  and  above  La  Cruz, 
though  the  river  was  brackish,  we  generally  found  water  fresh 
and  sweet  by  digging  a  few  feet  below  the  surface  at  a  short  dis- 
tance from  the  banks.  I  think  it  probable  that  both  the  Crucito 
and  La  Cruz  have  their  rise  in  the  LaKc  Porongas,  which  receives 
an  immense  volume  of  water  from  the  Eio  Dulce,  independent  of 
other  sources,  and,  like  it,  are  perfectly  free  from  saliferous  de- 
posits, which  would  not  probably  be  the  case  were  they  fed  by 
the  draining  of  other  lagoons,  most  of  which  are  saline. 

As  an  illustration  of  the  physical  character  of  the  basin  of  La 
Plata  at  its  various  points,  it  is  worthy  of  note  that  between  these 
two  little  rivers  there  flows  the  Saladito,  which  empties  into  the 
Salado  not  more  than  one  mile  from  the  mouth  of  La  Cruz,  and 
yet  its  water  is  as  salt  as  the  ocean ;  this  stream  is  doubtless  the 
outpouring  of  a  saline  lagoon. 

Throughout  this  exploration  we  saw  no  Indians,  and,  except  a 
few  wells,  beaten  paths,  and  marks  of  encampment,  no  traces  of 
them ;  and  yet  the  verdant  meadows  and  plains,  the  rich  dark  soil 
conveyed  an  undoubted  impression  of  fertility.  I  found  that  offi- 
cers and  men  were  indulging  in  the  old  habit  of  selecting  estan- 
cias  and  covering  them  with  flocks  and  herds.  , 

The  botany  of  this  region  offered  us  nothing  new,  but  from  its 
zoology  we  made  many  interesting  additions  to  our  collections. 
The  number  and  varied  species  of  animal  life  were  extraordinary. 
An  army  could  have  subsisted  for  a  time  upon  the  resources  of 
the  plain  and  river. 

In  descending  we  shot  a  magnificent  jaguar — the  largest  I  have 
ever  seen,  measuring  from  its  nose  to  the  root  of  the  tail  five  feet 
two  inches.  He  was  walking  on  the  left  bank,  doubtless  bound 
on  a  fishing  excursion.  Instead  of  escaping  inland  when  he  saw 
us,  he  dashed  into  the  river,  as  if  to  swim  to  the  opposite  shore ; 
but  midway  the  stream  he  suddenly  turned,  as  if  to  battle  with 
the  steamer.  Several  men  came  forward,  eager  to  have  a  shot  at 
the  enemy,  who  approached  rapidly,  apparently  undaunted  by  the 
appearance  or  noise  of  crew  or  vessel,  and  snarling  as  if  impa- 
tient to  make  ab  end  of  us.  Anxious  to  secure  it  as  a  specimen, 
and  of  course  with  as  little  mutilation  as  possible,  I  directed  the 
men  to  wait  for  the  word  "  fire,"  giving  the  first  chance  to  Kelly, 
the  best  shot  on  board.     I  told  him  to  lodge  the  ball  "  abaft"  the 


HYDROMETRIC  MEASUREMENTS. 


341 


SHOOTING  THE  JAGUAE. 

ear.  He  raised  his  musket,  took  deliberate  aim,  and  fired.  The 
.huge  creature  floundered  in  the  water,  and  when  the  men  in  the 
boat  reached  him  a  mmute  or  two  hater  he  was  not  quite  dead, 
but  bleeding  profusely,  and  so  far  gone  as  to  be  harmless.  With 
a  ship's  musket,  and  a  charge  of  "buck  and  ball,"  Kelly  had  se- 
cured one  of  the  finest  specimens  of  the  South  American  tiger, 
perhaps,  ever  seen  in  the  United  States.  The  skin  was  carefully 
preserved  in  salt,  and  sent  home,  where  it  arrived  in  good  condi- 
tion, and  may  be  seen  in  the  collection  at  the  Smithsonian  In- 
stitute. 

Among  the  swimming  birds  secured  are  several  species  of  teals, 
differing  but  little,  and  yet  with  distinctive  marks  in  plumage. 

The  density  of  the  Salado  water  at  two  points— one  below  the 
tributaries  alluded  to,  and  the  other  at  Monte  Aguara— also  that 
of  the  Crucito  and  La  Cruz,  was  tested  by  hydrometric  measure- 
ment, and  found  as  follows : 

Density  of  Salado  below  the  tributaries  by  hydrometer 

(No.  7) 8^5 

Temperature  of  water  (Fahr.) 54°. 5 

«  air  «     38° 


342  RETURN  TO  SANTA  FE. 

Density  of  River  Crucito 2°. 3 

Temperature  of  water 52°. 5 

"  air      59°.5 

Density  of  River  La  Cruz 6°. 3 

Temperature  of  water 4*1°. 5 

"  air      48°.5 

Density  of  the  Salado  at  Monte  Aquara 21°. 88 

Temperature  of  water 54° 

"  air      69° 

It  will  be  seen 'that  the  difference  in  density  between  the  two 
points  of  the  river  at  its  present  low  state,  below  and  above  the 
fresh-water  tributaries,  is  very  great,  and  can  alone  be  attributed 
to  their  influence. 

On  the  26th  we  began  to  retrace  our  steps.  The  season  of  fall 
in  this  river  is  from  May  to  November ;  and  boats  adapted  to  its 
navigation  during  the  greater  part  of  the  year  should  not  have 
length  exceeding  90  feet,  beam  16,  draft  2 ;  and  with  the  addition 
of  a  rudder  in  the  bow  a  steamer  could  be  more  effectually  con- 
trolled through  its  tortuous  windings. 

During  our  return  it  was  "touch  and  go,"  on  several  of  the 
shoalest  places,  showing  that  it  was  well  we  had  not  postponed  a 
day  later.  The  water  had  reached  nearly  its  lowest  point,  and 
though  in  some  parts  it  had  decreased  eight  feet  in  twelve  days,, 
it  was  now  falling  only  at  the  rate  of  two  inches  in  twenty -four 
hours.  Exposed  sections  of  the  banks  at  various  points  showed 
invariably  a  substratum  of  indurated  clay,  with  a  deep  surface-soil. 

We  reached  Santa  Fe  on  the  6th  of  the  month,  and  on  the 
12th,  having  competed  the  necessary  observations,  the  Yerba  was 
given  in  charge  to  Lieutenant  Powell,  with  instructions  to  explore 
such  branches  of  the  Parana  as  had  not  been  already  surveyed ; 
and  then  to  deliver  up  the  steamer  to  the  parties  from  whom  she 
had  been  chartered,  and  rejoin  the  Water  Witch. 

I  detached  Lieutenant  Murdaugh,  and  Cornelius,  one  of  the 
most  reliable  men  of  our  crew,  to  accompany  me  in  a  land  jour- 
ney to  the  head- waters  of  the  Salado,  and  if  possible  to  those  of 
the  Pilcomayo.  To  establish  the  navigability  of  this  latter  river 
was  with  me  a  work  of  absorbing  interest;  and  as  the  "Lopez 
decree"  would  not  let  us  ascend  it  from  the  Paraguay,  I  thought 
that  we  might,  with  such  means  of  defense  against  Indians  as  the 
Bolivians  would  gladly  afford,  work  our  way  down  it  with  the 
current,  or  even  alone,  on  some  craft  that  would  float. 


LAND  JOURNEY  UNDERTAKEN.  343 

I  determined  to  proceed  direct  to  Cordova,  thence  to  Santiago 
del  Estero,  and  so  on  to  Bolivia.  The  route  from  Sante  Fe  to  the 
west  was  now  entirely  abandoned,  and  that  from  Kosario  adopted, 
in  consequence  of  the  inhospitable  character  of  the  Indians  in  that 
section  of  the  province.  But  the  governor,  with  his  usual  zeal 
to  forward  our  work,  offered  me  a  small  military  escort,  and  with 
our  three  carbines,  and  thus  re-enforced,  I  thought  we  could  make 
our  way  through  any  party  of  wandering  savages ;  for  they  never 
encamp  or  establish  toldos  on  this  road,  as  their  principal  object 
is  to  plunder  the  tropas*  of  oxen,  horses,  or  any  portable  effects, 
and  retire  to  the  interior  of  the  Chaco. 

I  also  timed  my  departure  to  suit  that  of  the  mihtary  com- 
mander-iu-chief  of  the  province.  Colonel  Eodriguez,  who  was 
going  to  examine  Romero,  twenty -two  leagues  from  Santa  ¥6, 
for  the  purpose  of  establishing  a  new  military  post,  which  would 
extend  the  frontier  line  of  defense  twelve  leagues, 

Sause,  ten  leagues  from  Santa  Fe,  was  then  the  last  post,  and 
our  stopping-place  the  first  night.  Near  it  is  a  pueblito  of  six  or 
seven  hundred  civilized  Abipones,  one  of  the  most  desolate  and 
comfortless  villages  we  had  seen.  For  this  no  possible  reason 
could  be  assigned,  other  than  the  indolence  and  improvidence  of 
its  inhabitants;  for  the  surrounding  country  is  fertile,  and  offers 
excellent  pasturage.  We  were  kept  awake  the  beginning  of  the 
night  by  the  unceasing  howling  and  barking  of  dogs,  apparently 
quite  equal  in  number  to  the  pojDulation  ;  and  toward  day  by  the 
crowing  of  as  many  game-cocks.  At  4  A.M.  I  roused  up  Cornel- 
ius, who  had  become  quite  an  adept  in  making  mate,  and  we  for- 
tified ourselves  for  a  long  day's  ride  with  this  beverage. 

We  started  at  an  early  hour,  and  expecting  to  travel  sixty -seven 
miles  without  changing  horses,  our  progress  was  necessarily  slow 
— generally  a  walk,  the  most  unusual  and  fatiguing  gait  in  a 
horseback  journey  over  the  plains.  At  4  o'clock  P.M.  we  reach- 
ed Eomero,  a  point  distinguished  in  the  unbroken  level  of  the 
pampa  by  four  quebracho-trees  and  a  small  lagoon.  Before  we 
had  reached  our  halting-place,  one  of  the  soldiers  branched  off, 
and  seemed  to  be  hunting  for  something  over  the  plain.  He 
soon  reappeared  with  a  "  tatu,"  an  animal  of  the  armadillo  family. 
It  was  roasted  in  its  own  shell,  and  proved  as  delicious  a  morsel 
as  could  delight  the  palate  of  an  epicure.  After  halting  an  hour 
we  continued  our  journey,  accompanied  by  an  Argentine  officer 
*  A  number  of  wagons  transporting  produce  or  merchandise. 


344  SAUSE.— QUEBRACHO. 

and  two  soldiers  as  escort,'  and  at  8  P.M.  reached  Quebracho  Solo, 
a  spot,  as  its  name  indicates,  marked  by  a  single  tree.  Here  we 
halted,  as  one  of  our  soldiers  pretended  to  be  ill.  I  was  pro- 
voked, for  I  had  hopes  during  the  night  to  reach  the  next  military- 
post,  and  almost  wished  for  the  yell  of  an  Indian,  which  I  knew 
would  prove  a  panacea  for  the  man's  feigned  illness.  But  it  was 
useless  to  remonstrate ;  so,  settling  ourselves  upon  the  plain,  with 
saddle-blanket  for  bed,  and  saddle  for  pillow,  with  poncho  for 
over-all^  aud  the  starry  heavens  for  canopy,  we  soon  dropped  into 
a  sleep  not  disturbed  so  much  by  fear  of  Indians  as  by  cold,  mus- 
quitoes,  and  innumerable  insects.  By  4  A.M.  the  sick  soldier  had 
entirely  recovered,  and,  continuing  our  journey,  we  reached  Que- 
bracho at  9  o'clock  A.M.,  distant  from  Komero  thirty-six  miles, 
and  from  Sause  sixty-seven. 

We  were  now  within  the  Province  of  Cordova,  but  none  could 
inform  us  where  lay  the  dividing  line.  One  declared  it  to  be 
near  this  post,  another  that  it  was  twelve  miles  east.  At  Sause  we 
saw  a  domesticated  guanaco — a  beautiful  animal,  and  easily  tamed 
when  young.  They  are  highly  valued  for  their  wool  and  hides ; 
but  the  country  people  consider  their  flesh  indifferent  food.  Vast 
numbers  of  them  are  found  in  the  west  provinces,  but  up  to 
Quebracho  we  saw  but  one  flock,  and  that  was  flying  over  the 
plain  as  if  pursued  by  mounted  Indians  or  gauchos,  from  which 
we  presumed  that  the  watchman  on  duty  espied  us  before  we  saw 
his  charge.* 

Arriving  at  Quebracho  we  had  made  one  hundred  and  twenty- 
seven  miles  from  Santa  Fe,  traveling  the  whole  distance  through 
an  unbroken  plain.  Its  solitude  was  undisturbed  except  by  the 
military  post  and  Abipone  village  to  which  I  have  alluded,  and 
the  passage  occasionally  of  a  deer,  ostrich,  partridge,  or  a  herd  of 
guanaco.  There  was  no  impression  of  space ;  it  was  a  shoreless 
sea  of  grass,  the  eye  alone  finding  a  resting-place  upon  the  hori- 
zon, from  which  the  sun  rose  as  from  the  ocean.  The  refraction 
was  very  great;  as  in  the  African  deserts,  there  were  "Lakes  of 
the  Gazelle" — waters  that  never  fail ;  and  upon  these  grassy  sa- 
hferous  pampas  water  is  so  scarce  as  to  make  these  illusions  of 
mirage  both  refreshing  and  tormenting. 

Quebracho  is  a  desolate  spot,  without  trees  or  cultivation. 
Soldiers  shifting  from  gable  end  to  front,  and  back,  from  side  to 

*  A  male  guanaco  is  said  to  be  always  on  watch  when  they  descend  to  the  plains 
from  the  mountains. 


A  SURLY  OFFICER.  345 

gable  end,  to  seek  shade  from  a  mid-day  sun,  presented  a  com- 
plete scene  of  lazy  discomfort.  A  kid,  chickens,  and  eggs,  how- 
ever, furnished  us  with  an  excellent  breakfast,  during  the  prep- 
aration of  which  Mr.  Murdaugh  excited  the  astonishment  and 
delight  of  the  military  by  an  exhibition  of  the  power  of  one  of 
Colt's  revolvers.  They  had  never  imagined  or  dreamed  of  such 
an  improvement  in  fire-arms.  The  ten  hours'  ride  of  the  previous 
day,  a  night  on  the  pampa,  and  five  hours  in  the  saddle  that 
morning  before  reaching  the  posta,  was  not  a  very  go«d  prepara- 
tion for  another  ride  of  forty-two  miles  and  the  grass  for  a  bed 
when  it  was  over.  But,  refreshed  by  our  breakfast,  we  mounted 
horse,  and  started  for  the  "  Posta  Tio,"  again  escorted  by  a  lieu- 
tenant and  two  soldiers,  the  latter  seemingly  much  better  fitted  to 
command  than  their  ofiicer,  who,  silent  and  surly,  lurked  behind 
or  rode  ahead,  seldom  bestowing  upon  us  the  pleasure  of  his  com- 
pany or  conversation.  As  we  approached  a  grove  of  trees,  he 
dashed  ahead,  dismounted,  and  disappeared,  only  to  rejoin  us  late 
in  the  day.  He  had  spent  the  previous  night  gambling,  and  had 
availed  himself  of  the  shade  of  the  grove  for  a  siesta.  Gaming 
is  the  vice  of  these  people. 

The  afternoon  was  oppressively  hot.  This,  it  will  be  remem- 
bered,  was  the  last  winter  month,  and,  with  the  sun  in  our  faces, 
we  suffered  so  excessively  from  thirst  that  my  recollections  of  this 
stage  of  the  journey  are  by  no  means  pleasant.  The  ofiicer  knew 
of  no  water  within  reasonable  distance  of  our  route ;  "  none  could 
be  had  nearer  than  Tio,"  still  twenty -five  miles  distant.  Having 
quietly  ascertained  from  one  of  the  soldiers  that  there  was  a  la- 
goon {las  vivoras)  a  mile  or  two  ahead,  I  rode  to  it,  found  the  wa- 
ter brackish  but  drinkable ;  and  close  to  were  some  dead  buslies, 
out  of  which  we  made  a  fire,  and  settled  ourselves  for  the  night. 
The  lieutenant  was  still  shy,  and  the  soldiers  looked  perplexed,  as 
if  in  doubt  whether  their  duty  was  near  us  or  their  commander. 
A  bright  fire,  an  excellent  mate,  coffee,  and  some  of  the  treasures 
of  our  saddle-bags  in  the  shape  of  cold  sausage  and  ship's  biscuit, 
touched  the  heart  and  loosened  the  tongue  of  the  hitherto  taciturn 
Argentino,  who  drew  up,  and,  under  the  influence  of  good  fare, 
became  quite  agreeable.  I  intimated  to  the  gentleman  that  his 
"  command"  must  assist  in  collecting  food  for  the  fire,  or  dispense 
with  it.  In  this  pampa  apartment  we  were  at  least  free  from  the 
annoyance  of  barking  dogs,  crowing  cocks,  bed-bugs,  and  other 
plagues  of  postas,  and  slept  soundly  until  three  o'clock  A.M., 


346  SALINE  DEPOSITS.— TIO. 

when  I  was  awakened  thorouglily  cliilled  by  the  ice  on  my  pon- 
cho. I  turned  out,  roused  up  Cornelius ;  and  when  the  sun  was 
rising,  as  from  an  ocean  horizon,  we  were  again  galloping  toward 
Tio,  greatly  comforted  by  the  all-refreshing  mate  taken  before 
starting.  "We  soon  entered  a  section  of  the  pampa  diversified  by 
isJas  del  monte  (wooded  islets).  There  is  more  or  less  saliferous 
deposit  throughout  the  distance  from  Santa  Fe  to  Quebracho,  but 
from,  this  last  post  to  Tio  its  presence  is  excessive ;  extensive  sec- 
tions are  .white  with  the  efflorescence  of  salt  or  saltpetre.  No 
traveler  should  follow  this  route  over  the  plain  without  a  provi- 
sion of  water  as  well  as  food,  and  should  be  prepared  to  pass  his 
nights  upon  the  grass ;  for  where  a  little  fuel  is  to  be  found,  it  of- 
fers a  much  more  comfortable  bed  than  the  floor  or  hide  cots  of 
the  wretched  postas.  As  our  journey  was  made  in  the  last  win- 
ter month,  we  suffered  somewhat  from  cold,  but  an  additional 
blanket  or  two  would  remedy  this  inconvenience. 

Three  quarters  of  a  mile  from  Tio  we  forded  the  Segundo,  the 
water  up  to  the  bellies  of  the  horses,  and  saw  on  the  left  bank  the 
remains  of  the  old  town  of  Tio,  removed  to  its  present  position  in 
consequence  of  the  inundations  of  the  river,  which,  according  to 
the  commandante,  has  its  outlet  in  a  large  lake,  i/ar  Chico  (little 
sea),  twenty -five  miles  from  this  place. 

Tio,  or  Concepcion,  as  it  is  now  called,  is  a  neat  little  village  of 
about  thirty  whitewashed  and  thatched  adobe  houses,  placed  as 
usual  around  a  square,  at  one  end  of  which  was  a  chapel.  There 
were  in  this  neighborhood  very  few  cattle,  but  fine  flocks  of  sheep. 
The  first  are  worth  from  twelve  to  sixteen  dollars  the  head,  the 
latter  from  seventy-five  cents  to  one  dollar.  Horses  could  be  pur- 
chased for  eight  dollars,  and  mares  for  two. 

The  commandante  received  us  kindly,  and  the  well-bred  civili- 
ties of  his  wife  and  daughter  made  our  short  stay  at  this  place  a 
pleasant  moment  in  this  ride  over  the  pampa.  From  here  our 
journey  to  Cordova  was  much  facilitated  by  the  addition  of  two 
cargaro  horses,  for  which  we  paid,  inclusive  of  the  services  of  a 
man  in  charge  of  each,  18f  cents  the  league,  and  for  saddle-horses 
6  cents  the  same  distance. 

We  now  entered  upon  a  comparatively  populous  and  well-cul- 
tivated country.  The  houses  in  view  from  the  road  had  a  clean, 
comfortable  appearance,  and  wheat-fields  were  a  charming  sight 
after  the  monotony  of  the  uncultivated  plains.  "We  were  once 
more  amid  an  agricultural  people,  and  the  yield  of  wheat,  even 


DISTANCES.  347 

under  tlieir  system  of  culture — by  no  means  tlie  best — averages 
thirty  bushels  per  acre.  Our  journey  from  Tio  to  San  Francisco, 
the  next  posta,  was  made  at  a  full  gallop,  the  usual  and  least  fa- 
tiguing gait  in  traveling  over  the  pampas. 

After  leaving  San  Francisco,  and  about  thirty-six  miles  from 
Tio,  we  came  to  the  dry  sandy  bed  of  a  river ;  its  banks  were  from 
five  to  ten  feet  in  height,  with  the  usual  wooded  belting,  and,  in 
fact,  every  characteristic  of  a  considerable  river  but  the  most  es- 
sential one — water.  It  proved  to  be  El  Segundo,  which  here 
again,  in  its  windings,  crossed  our  path.  The  country  between 
San  Francisco  and  Monte  Redonda  is  populous,  with  fine  inclosed 
wheat-fields,  algorroba  abundant,  and  soil  a  light  but  rich  alluvi- 
um. I  took  from  the  river  bank,  three  feet  from  the  surface,  a 
specimen  of  earth  highly  impregnated  with  saltpetre. 

Beyond  this  posta  we  entered  an  undulating  country,  soil  light, 
and  vegetation  much  parched  by  drought.  Approaching  Cordo- 
va, we  found  the  dwellings  of  the  country  more  ambitiously  con- 
structed, but  the  cultivation  poor,  and  the  people  less  civil  than 
in  districts  remote  from  town.  I  had  noted  this  throughout  the 
basin  of  La  Plata.  In  the  vicinage  of  cities  and  towns  the  hospi- 
table impulses  of  the  people  seemed  to  be  checked  by  distrust  or 
fear.  From  Consejo,  the  last  posta  of  this  route,  the  sierras  of 
Cordova  were  in  view ;  and  there  was  a  perceptible  ascent  to  the 
rolling  lands  which  begin  a  little  east  of  the  low  broken  ridges 
that  concealed  the  capital.  Wearied  with  the  monotony  of  the 
plains,  we  hailed  with  delight  the  appearance  of  these  outposts  of 
the  Andean  ranges.  It  was  quite  dark  when  we  reached  the  siun- 
mit  of  the  last  ridge  in  approaching  the  city.  Eighty  feet  below 
were  the  lights  of  the  Athens  of  La  Plata,  and  in  a  few  minutes 
we  were  following  the  vaqueano  into  the  court-yard  of  a  French 
fonda  upon  the  plaza. 

Eight  glad  were  we  to  rest  for  a  day  or  two  after  our  horseback 
journey ;  for,  though  sailors,  we  had  made  the  distances  of  the 
gaucho,  and  yet  our  feats  of  horsemanship  had  not  begun. 

In  a  right  line  west — from  Santa  Fe  to  Cordova — we  had  trav- 
eled two  hundred  and  forty  miles. 

From  Santa  Fe  to  Sause,  the  frontier  post 30  miles. 

"     Sause  to  Romero 31     " 

"     Romero  to  Quebracho,  first  post  of  Cordova  East  36     " 

"     Quebracho  to  Tio  or  Concepcion 35     '' 

"     Concepcion  to  Cana 9     " 


348  CORDOVA. 

« 

From  Caiia  to  Arroyo  Cito 12  miles. 

"     Arroyo  Cito  to  San  Francisco 15  " 

"     San  Francisco  to  Monte  Redonda 18  " 

"     Monte  Redonda  to  Uruguay 12  " 

"     Uruguay  to  Canada 9  " 

"     Canada  to  Consejo 9  " 

"     Consejo  to  Antonio  Francisco 12  " 

*'    Antonio  Francisco  to  Cordova 12  " 

Total 240  " 

The  first  three  are  military  posts.  From  Tio  to  Cordova  the 
postas  are  for  the  benefit  of  travelers,  who  may  find  at  them  all 
the  usual  accommodations — an  empty  house,  scanty  fare,  hide 
cots  without  bedding,  and  indifferent  horses. 


CHAPTER  XX. 

Cordova. — De  Garay. — Population  of  the  Province. — The  City  of  Cordova. — Trade. 

— Eail-road  surveyed  by  Mr.  Campbell. — Madam  .  — Cathedral  and  Public 

Buildings. — The  Colegio  Maximo. — Paintings. — Dr.  Hawling's  Tannery. — The 
Market. — Copper  in  the  Sierras  of  Cofdova. — Seiior  Zuverir. — Mineral  Districts. 
— A  Journey  to  Santiago. — Appearance  of  the  Horses  :  their  Powers  of  Endur- 
ance.— Valley  of  Jesus  Maria. — Shepherds'  Dogs. — Divisidero. — Posta  San  Pe- 
dro.— Rosario. — Hard  Riding. — Posta  del  Monte. — Bed  of  the  Rio  Dulce. — 
Quichua  Language. — Perqui. — The  Harpist. — The  Tropero. — A  Dance  and  no 
Supper. — Cana. — Another  Tropa. — Arrival  at  Santiago. 

Cordova  is  one  of  the  Western  States  of  the  "Confederation," 
one  of  "  Las  Provincias  Arribenas" — a  region  conquered  and  set- 
tled by  the  Spaniards  of  Peru  ;  a  party  of  whom,  commanded  by 
Don  Diego  Rojas,  reached  it  in  1543.  Don  Luis  de  Cabrera,  ap- 
pointed in  1573  governor  of  those  districts,  founded  the  city  of 
Cordova,  with  the  hope  and  ultimate  design  of  opening  a  com- 
munication to  the  Parana.  While  De  Garay  was  engaged  in 
establishing  the  settlement  of  Santa  Fe,  a  man,  from  the  mast- 
head of  his  little  vessel,  which  was  moored  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Salado,  observed  signal-fires  lighting  over  the  plain  and  a  great 
movement  among  the  Indians.  Expecting  to  be  attacked,  De 
Garay  was  preparing  to 'make  the  best  defense  he  could,  when  the 
"  look-out  man"  descried  in  the  distance  a  cavalier ;  another,  and 
yet  another,  until  a  number  of  horsemen  appeared  charging  the 
savages  in  their  rear.  It  was  a  party  of  Cabrera's  followers,  who 
here  met  for  the  first  time  the  conquerors  of  La  Plata.     These 


POPULATION.— COMMERCE.  349 

nortliwest  provinces  remained  a  part  of  tlie  Viceroyaltj  of  Peru 
until  1776,  when  tliej  were  annexed  to  that  of  Buenos  Ay  res. 

The  city  of  Cordova,  the  capital,  stands  near  the  right  bank  of 
the  Primero,  in  latitude '31°  2^'  south,  longitude  64°  09'  west,* 
on  a  plain  12-10  feet  above  the  level  of  the  Parana  at  Kosario.  It 
is  the  principal  and  only  considerable  town  of  the  state,  which  is 
bounded  on  the  north  by  Santiago  del  Estero,  east  by  Santa  Fe, 
south  by  Buenos  Ayres,  and  west  by  the  Sierras  de  Cordova ; 
their  highest  point,  "  La  Cuesta,"  rising  2500  feet  above  the  plains. 
Numerous  rivers — the  principal  of  which  are  the  Primero,  Segun- 
do,  Tercero,  Quarto,  and  Quinto — that  intersect  the  state,  fertilize 
a  large  extent  of  country,  and  flow  east  until  lost  in  the  sandy 
plains  or  in  the  "Mar  Chico."  Only  one,  the  Tercero,  disem- 
bogues in  the  Parana,  under  the  name  of  Carcarana. 

The  population  of  the  state  may  be  estimated,  in  the  absence 
of  all  reliable  data,  at  100,000  souls,  of  which  the  capital  contains 
15,000,  This  is  a  lower  estimate  than  is  assigned  it  by  some,  and 
yet  it  would  seem  to  be  too  great  when  we  remember  that  thirty 
years  ago  it  was  given  by  census  at  85,000,  and  that  portions  of 
the  country  since  that  time  have  been  almost  depopulated  by  civil 
wars  and  the  persevering  hostility  of  the  Chaco  tribes.  Hides 
and  wool — the  latter  very  superior — have  been  the  only  exports, 
though  the  products  of  the  state  are  as  varied  as  its  physical  fea- 
tures :  wheat  and  the  sugar-cane  attain  great  perfection,  but  the 
difficulties  of  transportation  have  limited  their  culture  to  the  de- 
mands of  a  home  population. 

Cordova  is  a  depot  for  the  staples  of  the  northwest  provinces — 
Catamarca,  Mendoza,  San  Luis,  San  Juan,  Eioja — in  transitu  for 
Eosario  and  Santa  Fe.  In  1855,  this  trade  reached  within  a  frac- 
tion of  1,400,000  arobas,  or  1700  tons ;  at  a  cost  in  transportation, 
by  ox- wagons  or  mules,  of  31 J  cents  the  aroba,  or  $25  the  ton ; 
and  employing  more  than  6000  carretas (carts),  17,000  mules;  the 
carts  transporting  190  arobas  each,  and  mules  14,  The  trade  with 
Mendoza  has  heretofore  been  carried  on  exclusively  by  mules,  at 
the  rate  of  from  fifty  to  sixty  dollars  the  ton.  But  the  spirit  of 
progress  has  reached  even  this  remote  region,  and  a  little — very 

*  The  pocket  chronometer  had  lost  its  uniform  rate,  consequently  the  meridian 
difference  between  Santa  Fe  and  Cordova,  as  shown  by  it,  could  not  be  relied  on; 
but  we  have,  through  the  kindness  of  Mr.  Campbell,  the  best  means  of  determining 
its  longitude,  wlaich  is  deduced  from  actual  measurement,  applied  to  our  determin- 
ation of  Kosario. 


350  EECEPTION  AT  CORDOVA. 

little — ^intercourse  with  foreigners  would  give  a  great  impetus  to 
the  development  of  their  resources.  They  had  heard  of  Conosto- 
ga  wagons  and  improved  agricultural  implements ;  during  our 
short  stay  the  subject  of  importing  them  was  agitated,  and  the 
result  was  an  order  to  the  amount  of  $50,000,  which  was  filled  in 
Boston.  I  have  alluded,  in  a  previous  chapter,  to  the  arrival  of 
the  ship  at  Eosario  with  this  cargo. 

The  route  of  a  rail-road  has  been  surveyed  from  the  city  of 
Cordova  to  Eosario,  which  will,  when  completed,  not  only  pro- 
mote enormously  the  facilities  of  trade,  and  do  much  toward 
strengthening  the  political  fabric,  but  will  rid  the  country  through 
which  it  passes  from  the  predatory  incursions  of  the  Indians.  My 
reception  was  perhaps  less  cordial  here  than  in  other  cities  of  the 
west ;  for  the  Cordo vases  feared  that  the  navigation  of  the  Salado, 
if  established,  would  divert  from  their  town  much  of  the  trade  they 
hoped  to  monopolize.  But,  if  the  capital  is  not  to  be  immediately 
benefited  by  the  opening  of  that  river,  the  northern  and  eastern 
parts  of  the  state  are ;  for  the  Salado  is  the  southern  boundary  of 
the  Chaco,  and  its  navigation  will  be  more  effectual  than  a  hund- 
red military  posts  in  confining  the  Indian  within  the  limits  of  his 
legitimate  domain.  A  glance  at  the  map  will  show  that  both 
these  highways  extend  through  and  reach  into  remote  and  wide- 
ly-separated districts  of  the  Confederation,  and  will  offer  an  easy 
transit  for  valuable  products  which  heretofore,  from  the  distances 
to  be  traversed  and  the  expense  of  carriage,  have  not  entered  intQ 
their  trade.  This  road,  the  first  work  of  the  kind  in  La  Plata,  is 
considered  by  the  Cordovases — and  very  justly  so,  when  we  re- 
member the  past  history  of  the  country — a  gigantic  enterprise. 
The  prospect  of  opening  the  Salado  had  awakened  even  greater 
hopes  in  other  states ;  and,  as  I  progressed  to  its  head- waters, 
through  Santiago,  Salta,  and  Tucuman,  I  was  greeted  enthusias- 
tically, for  news  of  our  success  in  the  work  below  preceded  us,  al- 
though I  often  traveled  with  the  speed  of  the  post  from  city  to  city. 

Cordova  is  laid  out  upon  the  plan  prescribed  by  the  laws  of  the 
Indies.  Straight,  narrow  streets  intersect  each  other  at  right  an- 
gles, forming 'quadras  (squares)  of  150  yards  each.  The  better 
houses  are  of  stone,  one-storied,  and  built  around  paved  courts, 
upon  which  all  the  rooms  open.  Neither  in  going  or  returning 
had  I  much  opportunity  of  seeing  the  domestic  life  of  its  inhabit- 
ants ;  but,  if  I  may  judge  from  the  appointments  of  Sen  or 's 

dwelling,  they  are  in  the  enjoyment  of  all  the  luxuries  usual  in 


THE  JESUIT  COLLEGE.  351 

towns  of  the  same  size ;  indeed,  there  were  manufactured  articles 
of  other  countries,  the  transportation  of  which  must  have  cost  a 
little  fortune. 

I  accompanied  Madame and  her  two  pretty  daughters 

in  a  paseo  to  the  Alameda,  a  square  of  about  150  yards,  adorned 
by  a  miniature  lake  and  fine  trees.  A  band  of  music  and  a  crowd 
of  people,  among  whom  were  many  handsome  women,  presented 
an  animated  scene.  The  anticipated  launching  of  a  small  boat 
upon  the  lake  seemed  to  be  a  general  and  absorbing  topic  of  inter- 
est and  conversation. 

The  principal  public  buildings  are  a  cathedral  and  some  nine 
or  ten  churches,  to  each  of  which  is  a  square  of  150  yards.  There 
are  also  several  convents,  with  grounds  inclosed  by  walls  twenty 
feet  in  height.  Many  of  the  Spanish  writers  allude  to  the  relig- 
ious fervency  of  the  Cordovases,  a  character  they  perhaps  still 
merit ;  for  I  was  told  that  the  wealth  of  the  churches  and  con- 
ventual establishments  was  very  great,  arising  generally  from  the 
donations  and  legacies  of  females. 

The  possessions  and  revenues  of  the  Jesuits  in  this  province 
were  vast.  Here  was  their  Golegio  Maximo,  for  more  than  a  centu- 
ry the  principal  seat  of  learning  in  La  Plata ;  and  here  also  was  the 
famous  hbrary  so  wantonly  destroyed  or  scattered  at  the  time  of 
their  expulsion.  From  their  confiscated  property  the  University 
of  Buenos  Ayres  was  established,  while  that  of  Cordova  has  dwin- 
dled to  a  mere  provincial  school,  known  as  Golegio  Montserrat.  I 
was  conducted  through  it  by  one  of  the  professors,  and  was  amazed 
at  the  extent  and  imposing  character  of  the  buildings.  After  pass- 
ing through  a  number  of  empty  rooms,  we  entered  the  church, 
the  interior  of  which  showed  the  remains  of  great  splendor.  The 
ceiling  was  richly  frescoed,  and  the  walls,  indeed  every  available 
space,  were  covered  by  pictures,  many  of  them  blackened  and  de- 
faced, less,  perhaps,  by  time  than  neglect.  A  "Crucifixion"  and 
"Last  Supper"  were  in  good  order,  and  works  of  great  merit. 
Around  the  entire  church,  in  elaborately  carved  and  gilded  fram- 
ings, with  an  armorial  bearing  and  Latin  inscription  to  each,  were 
impaneled  portraits  of  distmguished  Jesuits.  I  could  learn  noth- 
ing of  the  history  of  these  paintings,  which  I  much  regretted. 
Among  them  there  may  be,  and  doubtless  are,  gems  of  medigeval 
art ;  for  not  only  was  the  basin  of  La  Plata  settled  by  members  of 
the  noblest  families  of  Spain,  who  may  have  carried  with  them 
many  artistic  treasures,  but  the  ecclesiastics,  the  Jesuit  missiona- 


352  MANUFACTURES. 

ries  especially,  represented  every  European  kingdom,  and  consid- 
ered no  decoration  too  costly  and  no  wealth  too  vast  to  be  lavish- 
ed upon  their  church  edifices.  Noble  monuments  of  Jesuit  in- 
dustry and  genius  are  to  be  seen  in  ever}'-  part  of  the  country. 
In  the  lovely  valley  of  "Jesus  Maria,"  about  fifteen  miles  from 
the  city  of  Cordova,  I  visited  another  establishment,  which,  after 
their  expulsion,  passed  into  the  hands  of  the  Franciscans.  The 
buildings  and  gardens  are  extensive,  and  in  the  latter  were  some 
half  dozen  English  walnut-trees,  planted  by  the  fathers,  of  superb 
size  and  foliage,  their  freshness  contrasting  strangely  and  impress- 
ively with  the  dilapidated  walls  and  inclosures.  The  adjoining 
estancia  is  now  the  property  of  the  Colegio  Montserrat. 

The  aspect  of  the  country  surrounding  the  town  of  Cordova  is 
picturesquely  beautiful.  Timber  and  lunestone  of  the  finest  qual- 
ity abound ;  tree-embowered  dwellings  of  excellent  construction 
and  dazzhng  whiteness  dot  the  plain,  which,  sheltered  by  the  first 
steps  of  the  sierras  from  north  and  south  winds,  is  not  visited  by 
severe  vicissitudes  of  temperature,  and  an  admirable  system  of  ir- 
rigation gives  to  vegetation  a  luxuriant  freshness.  The  banks  of 
the  Primero  were  enlivened  by  several  industrial  establishments, 
among  which  were  a  large  grist-mill,  where  excellent  flour  was 
made  from  wheat  grown  in  the  state,  and  a  flourishing  tannery, 
owned  by  a  citizen  of  the  United  States,  Dr.  John  S.  Hawling, 
a  native  of  Loudoun  County,  Virginia.  The  specimens  I  saw  of 
varied  colored  moroccos  were  admirable.  Calf,  goat,  and  guanaco 
skins  are  dressed  at  this  tannery,  and  a  ready  sale  is  found  for 
them  at  Rosario  and  Buenos  Ayres;  indeed,  from  the  difficulty 
of  obtaining  efficient  operatives.  Dr.  Hawling  could  not  meet  the 
increasing  demand.  His  best  workmen  were  foreigners,  and  sev- 
eral were  from  the  United  States.  Goat-skins  were  worth  SIJ 
cents,  kid  6^  cents,  calf  $1  50  to  $2  in  the  raw  state ;  manufac- 
tured, they  commanded,  goat-skins,  morocco,  from  ten  to  fifteen 
dollars  per  dozen,  kid  eight,  and  calf  from  five  to  six  apiece.  He 
considered  the  guanaco*  hides  equal  to  calf,  and  they  were  worth, 
in  the  raw  state,  fifty  cents ;  manufactured,  five  dollars. 

The  bark  of  the  algorroba,  the  leaf  of  a  shrub,  the  molle — both 
abundant  in  the  province — and  the  bark  of  the  cevil,  which  is 
superior  to  all,  but  expensive,  as  it  is  brought  from  Tucuman  at 
fifty  cents  the  aroba,  are  used  in  this  establishment. 

*  Vast  herds  of  this  animal  frequent  the  plains  as  well  as  the  highest  mountain 
ranges. 


COPPER  MINES.  353 

I  visited  the  market,  where,  as  in  Asuncion,  women  were  seat- 
ed upon  the  ground  encircled  by  vegetables  and  fruits,  while  cov- 
ered carts  served  as  the  stalls  of  butchers  and  poulterers.  A  well- 
dressed  man  was  going  the  rounds,  presenting  to  many  of  the 
country  people  a  small  silver  crucifix,  which  they  reverently 
touched  with  their  lips,  giving  the  bearer  in  return  a  real — 12^ 
cents — perhaps  half  the  earnings  of  the  morning.  Neither  the 
kiss  nor  the  money  were  ever  withheld,  though  I  observed  on 
the  countenance  of  more  than  one  burly  butcher  an  expression, 
as  I  thought,  of  dissatisfaction.  I  afterward  asked  a  citizen  the 
meaning  of  this  custom.  He  replied  frankly  that  it  was  a  great 
imposition,  but  one  frequently  practiced  to  raise  money ;  for  a 
Cordovase  would  starve  before  refusing  this  tribute  to  the  symbol 
of  Christianity  when  presented. 

The  sierras  of  Cordova  abound  in  copper,  of  which  Senor  Zu- 
verir,  the  brother  of  the  Minister  of  Foreign  Relations,  gave  me 
eight  or  ten  specimens  from  as  many  veins  upon  his  own  prop- 
erty, some  indicating  great  richness. 

With  the  prospect  of  a  more  stable  government  these  mines 
had,  even  at  the  period  of  my  visit,  attracted  the  attention  of 
foreign  capitalists.  In  returning  from  the  upper  states  I  met  a 
party  of  miners,  principally  Englishmen,  but  recently  arrived  from 
Lake  Superior,  who  were  sent  out  by  Mr.  La  Fon  of  Montevideo 
to  work  copper-lands  which  he  had  just  purchased  in  Catamarca 
for  $96,000.  It  is  the  opinion  of  many  that  the  mineral  treasures 
of  the  northwestern  states  are  unbounded ;  and  resident  land- 
holders would  gladly  avail  themselves  of  the  energy  and  experi- 
ence of  foreigners  in  developing  them.  I  believe  myself  that  a 
fine  harvest  awaits  the  reaper. 

On  the  25th  of  August,  1855, 1  started  for  Santiago  del  Estero, 
distant  from  Cordova  860  miles,  according  to  the  postas  of  the 
government,  of  which  there  are  twenty-one,  from  three  to  eight 
leagues  apart.  I  must  confess  that  I  felt  discouraged  by  the  ap- 
pearance of  the  wretched  horses  brought  out  to  begin  the  jour- 
ney ;  poor,  panting,  ungroomed  creatures,  dragged  by  the  lasso 
from  a  corral,  whither  they  had  been  driven  after  an  hour's  race 
over  the  pampas.  It  seemed  impossible  that  they  could  make 
twelve  miles  a  day,  much  less  an  hour,  and  this  over  a  hilly  coun- 
try. But  much  as  I  thought  I  had  learned,  my  experience  and 
knowledge  of  the  power  of  horses  in  La  Plata  were  yet  to  be 
gained.     I  complained  to  the  master  of  the  first  posta  for  giv- 

23 


354  SHEEP-DOGS. 

ing  us  such  miserable  animals.  He  looked  most  provokingly  un- 
moved, saying, 

"  jE's  buen  cavallo,  Senor ;  es  muy  manso'''  (It  is  a  very  good 
horse,  Sir ;  it  is  very  gentle). 

"  Muy  manso  the  d — 1 !  what  do  I  want  with  a  horse  muy  inan- 
sof    You  will  never  see  this  again  ;  it  will  drop  on  the  road." 

"  Muy  hien^  Senor'''  (As  you  please),  said  the  man,  bowing  com- 
placently. 

This  was  too  much.  Off  I  dashed  at  half-speed,  never  breaking 
a  gallop  for  twelve  miles.  Instead  of  being  broken  down  or  dis- 
tressed, the  sorry -looking  beasts,  after  a  half  hour's  rest,  were  to 
be  driven  back,  I  was  told  by  the  postillion,  at  the  same  speed,  and 
then  turned  out  to  pasture  upon  the  pampa.  At  all  the  postas  I 
was  detained  nearly  an  hour,  while  the  horses  were  driven  from 
the  pastures  into  the  corral  to  be  saddled,  and  yet,  in  all  this  jour- 
ney, I  never  made  less  than  ten,  and  commonly  twelve  miles  the 
hour,  and  often  proceeded  to  the  distance  of  twelve  to  twenty- 
four  miles,  at  full  gallop,  on  the  same  horse. 

The  face  of  the  country  was  very  unlike  the  pampas  of  Santa 
Fe.  We  were  fairly  among  the  low  sierras,  the  connecting  links  be- 
tween the  plains  and  the  Andean  ranges.  After  leaving  the  calcare- 
ous plain  on  which  stands  the  capital,  we  entered  upon  a  granite 
formation.  Owing  to  the  drought,*  all  verdure  had  disappear- 
ed. From  this  district  our  road  led  into  the  valley  of  Jesus  Maria, 
which  was  enameled  with  wheat-fields,  and  enlivened  by  several 
grist-mills  in  active  operation.  The  herds  of  cattle  were  small, 
but  the  flocks  of  sheep  and  goats  were  large.  The  sheep  were 
guarded  only  by  dogs ;  a  feature  in  the  pastoral  life  of  this  coun- 
try mentioned  by  Azara,  but  which  I  saw  here  for  the  first  time. 

The  protection  of  the  dog  is  said  to  be  ample.  In  the  morn- 
ing, when  about  to  lead  the  flock  out  to  pasture,  a  piece  of  meatf 
is  hung  about  his  neck  to  prevent  all  temptation  to  stray  off  for 
food,  and  most  faithfully  he  remains  at  his  post  during  the  whole 
day.  The  sheep  recognize  their  canine  guardian  by  closing  be- 
hind him  at  the  approach  of  a  supposed  enemy,  and  by  following 
readily  as,  punctually  at  sundown,  he  leads  them  to  the  protection 
of  the  Qorral.  The  dog  is  trained  for  this  duty  by  separation,  soon 
after  its  birth,  from  the  bitch,  and  by  being  placed  upon  a  nest  of 
wool  in  the  sheep-fold,  where  it  receives  nourishment  three  or  four 

*  The  rainy  season  begins  the  1st  of  October. 

t  Azara  says  if  this  meat  is  mutton  the  dog  will  never  taste  it. 


PALMS  AND  CACTI.  355 

times  a  day  from  a  ewe.  It  is  afterward  castrated,  and  kept  apart 
from  other  dogs,  and  even  from  the  children  of  the  family.  Thus 
cut  off  from  all  connection  with  its  own  kind,  and  from  the  do- 
mesticity of  human  association,  it  affiliates  readily  with  the  sheep, 
and,  as  their  shepherd,  shows  a  sagacity  and  fidelity  quite  extra- 
ordinary. 

From  this  district,  which  abounds  in  friable  limestone  of  excel- 
lent quality,  we  entered  a  sandy,  gravelly  region,  with  but  poor 
vegetation,  save  a  species  of  palm,  the  filamentous  tissues  of  which, 
I  am  confident,  would  prove  an  excellent  raw  material  for  cordage, 
canvas,  or  other  coarse  fabrics. 

Near  Divisidero,  75  miles  from  Cordova,  grow  vast  quantities 
of  a  gigantic  cactus,  which  bears  a  rich,  luscious  yellow  fruit,  much 
prized  by  the  people  of  the  country,  who  make  from  it  a  delicious 
jelly,  dark  as  molasses. 

At  San  Pedro,  the  next  posta,  were  clustered  a  few  neat  and 
well-constructed  houses,  around  a  small  church,  recently  built ; 
and  immediately  in  the  vicinity  were  thriving  orchards  of  apple 
and  peach  trees.  The  soil  of  the  neighboring  country  was  sandy, 
gravelly,  with  but  little  cultivation,  and  its  predominant  growth 
was  an  inferior  species  of  palm. 

I  reached  Eosario,  the  next  halting-place,  distant  nine  miles,  in 
fifty  minutes.  Here  the  usual  empty  prison-like  room  assigned 
to  travelers  was  made  quite  comfortable  by  water  and  towels  sent 
to  us  by  a  lady  of  the  posta. 

From  Eosario  we  traveled  through  a  poor,  uncultivated,  and  un- 
dulating country  to  Changa,  a  pueblo  of  twenty  or  thirty  houses, 
and  from  thence  to  El  Paso  de  Tigre,  where  we  spent  the  night. 
At  this  last  place  was  a  hideous  object,  the  corpse  of  a  man  who 
had  died  from  the  poison  of  a  spider.  He  was  bitten  upon  the 
lip,  and  the  swelling  was  so  excessive  that  it  was  impossible  to 
distinguish  his  features. 

The  next  f  osta,  of  18  miles,  was  made  in  one  hour  and  forty 
minutes;  the  road  passing  the  whole  distance  over  a  table-land 
of  limestone.  From  a  wild,  rugged  ravine,  intersected  by  a  small 
stream,  it  next  entered  a  desolate  region,  without  native  or  cul- 
tured vegetation,  save  a  few  thorny  scrubby  bushes.  Granite  and 
coarse  sand  were  its  prominent  geognostic  features. 

We  had  made  165  miles  from  the  capital,  and  were  near  the 
dividing  line  of  the  states  of  Cordova  and  Santiago  del  Estero  ; 
but  where  or  what  direction  it  took  none  could  tell. 


356  THE  DULCE. 

From  this  point  the  country  was  hilly,  but  fertile,  with  fine 
fields  and  noble  forests  of  quebracho  bianco  and  algorroba.  I 
saw  few  horned  cattle,  but  large  flocks  of  goats  and  sheep  brows- 
ing upon  every  hill-side.  On  reaching  our  resting-place  for  the 
night  we  had  made  during  the  day  72  miles,  and  yet  had  been 
detained  at  least  one  half  the  time  at  the  different  postas,  thus 
averaging  twelve  miles  the  hour,  without  feeling  particularly 
fatigued  or  observing  any  sign  of  failing  on  the  part  of  the  mis- 
erable-looking horses.  The  promise  of  an  extra  real  to  the  postil- 
lion will  always  insure  an  average  speed  of  ten  miles  the  hour 
throughout  the  day. 

The  Posta  del  Monte  is  half  a  mile  from  the  River  Dulce,  there 
known  as  the  Saladillo,  for  it  flows  along  the  edge  of  the  Salinas, 
or  travesia,  a  vast  zone  of  saliferous  sand,  extending  over  parts  of 
four  states — Cordova,  Santiago,  Rioja,  and  Catamarca. 

This  arid  district  must  nevertheless  possess  some  nutritious 
herbage,  for  the  few  horses  and  cattle  that  we  saw  were  in  re- 
markably fine  condition ;  but  in  passing  its  eastern  extremity, 
where  it  has  a  width  of  not  more  than  twelve  miles,  we  saw  only 
a .  few  stunted  succulent  plants,  and  a  dense  growth  of  salsole, 
which  extended  several  miles;  the  earth  being  white  with  in- 
crustations of  salt  and  pure  saltpetre. 

The  general  direction  of  the  Dulce  was  formerly  south-east 
from  its  source  to  the  Lake  Porongas;  but  in  1823,  in  conse- 
quence of  a  great  accumulation  of  drift-wood,  which  obstructed 
its  passage  about  eighteen  miles  from  Santiago,  during  a  periodical 
rise  it  broke  through  the  banks;  and  taking  a  circuitous  course 
south-west  along  the  borders  of  the  travesia,  became  so  strongly 
impregnated  with  saliferous  deposit  as  to  forfeit  all  right  to  a 
name  which  formerly  indicated  the  purity  of  its  waters. 

Unaware  of  these  physical  changes,  and  knowing  the  Dulce 
only  from  the  position  heretofore  assigned  it  by  geographers,  I 
applied  to  the  master  of  this  posta  to  learn  something  of  the  char- 
acteristics of  the  Saladillo,  which  I  sujjposed  to  be  one  of  the 
many  rivers  that  flow  from  the  eastern  slopes  of  the  Andes,  and 
are  lost  by  evaporation  or  in  the  swamps  and  lagoons  of  the  pam- 
pas. He  could  give  me  no  information  whatever.  He  knew  it 
only  as  the  Sakdillo,  "  which  begins  to  rise  in  October,  and  reaches 
the  highest  point  in  April,  when  it  overflows  the  lands  immediate- 
ly adjacent,"  In  fording  it  I  found  a  depth  of  from  three  to  four 
feet,  with  banks  on  either  side  ten  feet  above  the  water-level. 


THE  QUICHUA  LANGUAGE.  357 

Notwitlistanding  the  indifference  and  ignorance  of  the  post- 
master as  to  the  course  of  the  Dulce,  its  new  direction  had  com- 
pletely changed  the  character  of  a  large  district  of  country ;  a 
district  which,  once  rich  in  pasture-lands,  teeming  with  luxuriant 
crops  and  a  considerable  population,  is  now  comparatively  a  ster- 
ile desert. 

Subsequently,  in  conversing  upon  this  change  with  the  Gover- 
nor of  Santiago,  a  man  of  great  intelligence,  he  dwelt  hopefully 
upon  a  project  in  view  for  restoring  the  river  to  its  old  channel, 
and  he  told  me  that  nothing  but  their  intestine  troubles  had  caused 
a  ppstponement  of  the  work.  I  suggested  to  him  another  enterprise, 
which  would  be  attended  with  very  little  expense ;  an  examina- 
tion of  the  Dulce  for  boat  navigation,  from  the  central  districts  of 
Santiago  to  Lake  Porongas,  and  from  that  point  to  the  Salado. 

After  passing  this  river  I  heard  for  the  first  time,  at  the  Posta 
Chilque,  the  Quichua  language.  It  is  spoken  in  only  one  section 
of  Santiago,  that  is,  north  of  the  Dulce,  in  a  region  of  country  oc- 
cupied principally  by  Mestizos ;  while  south  of  the  same  stream 
French  or  English  would  be  as  comprehensible  to  the  people. 
But  a  more  extraordinary  fact  still,  in  connection  with  the  range 
of  this  language,  is  that  though  it  comes  from  the  north — from 
the  Empire  of  the  Incas — it  is  not  spoken  or  understood  in  Jujuy, 
Salta,  or  Tucuman, 

The  Jesuits  published  a  grammar  and  dictionary  of  it,  but  the 
only  book  I  saw  was  an  octavo  volume  of  six  hundred  pages,* 
presented'to  me  by  General  Taboado.  It  was  published  in  Lima 
in  1631,  and  contains,  with  instruction  to  the  curates  for  adminis- 
tering to  the  natives  baptism  and  confirmation,  the  catechism, 
prayers,  and  offices  of  the  Eomish  Church. 

From  Chilque  to  the  Pueblo  Atamisque  the  country  was  cov- 
ered with  fine  forests  of  quebracho  bianco  and  quebracho  Colora- 
do, but  beyond  this  to  Palumbala  it  presented  the  aspect  of  an 
arid  waste ;  the  dust  rose  in  clouds,  as  from  a  Macadamized  and 
much-traveled  road.  The  soil,  a  brown  loam,  was  apparently  good, 
but  there  was  no  grass,  not  a  shrub  or  tree,  to  give  momentary 
shelter  from  the  burning  rays  of  the  sun :  yet  this  dreary  district 
was  part  of  the  once  lovely,  fruitful  basin  of  the  Dulce:  I  can 
not  offer  a  better  illustration  of  the  importance  of  irrigation  in 
these  regions,  only  visited  by  periodical  rains. 

*  "  Ritual  forinulario  e  institucion.  dc  Ciiras,  para  administrar  d  los  Naturalen  de 
este  Reyno,  los  Santos  Sacramentos  del  D'ij>tis7no,  Conjirmacion,  Eucanstia,"  &c. 


858 


A  MEREY-MAKING. 


We  stopped  for  the  night  at  Perqui,  near  the  little  village  of 
Loreto,  having  made  a  day's  ride  of  seventy  miles. 

A  merry-making  was  on  foot ;  the  daughter  of  the  post-master 
was  gaily  attired,  and  tuned  up  a  rude  harp,  upon  which  she  was 
to  play  for  her  expected  guests  to  dance ;  but  the  master  himself 
was  in  his  cups,  and  declared  he  could  give  us  no  supper,  for  the 
flocks  had  not  come  up.  A  ride  of  seventy  miles  without  dinner 
was  no  excuse  for  our  not  joining  the  dancers,  for  beaux  were 
needed.  I  could  not  agree  with  him ;  so,  drawing  out  a  reserve 
of  bread  and  a  bottle  of  milk  from  our  saddle-bags,  we  made  a 
supper  and  retired  to  hide  cots,  with  the  heavens  for  a  canopy.* 


TEOPA   OP  0AEEETA8   ENCAMPED. 


We  were  soon  disturbed  by  an  arrival,  a  tropa  of  ten  carretas 
from  Eosario,  bound  for  Tucuman.  This  was  a  welcome  event 
to  the  dancers ;  the  tropero  and  his  companions,  fine  dashing-look- 
ing fellows,  were  soon  whirling  in  the  waltz,  caring  neither  for 
supper  nor  rest  after  a  long  day's  travel.  The  passion  of  these 
people,  both  men  and  women,  for  the  dance  is  marked.  Within 
doors  it  supersedes  all  other  amusements ;  and  as  every  village 
and  posta  has  its  rude  guitarist  or  harpist,  and  the  only  refresh- 

*  In  traveling  in  La  Plata  I  rarely  slept  in  a  house. 


COST  OF  TRANSPORTATION.  359 

ment,  a  sip  of  cana,  is  readily  obtainable,  to  give  a  ball  is  with 
them  but  to  collect  a  few  neighbors. 

From  the  tropero  I  learned  that  each  of  his  ten  wagons  carried 
180  arobas,  for  which  the  charge  from  Tucuman  to  Eosario  was 
$1  25  the  aroba ;  for  the  return  trip,  75  cents  for  every  wagon. 
Several  relays  of  six  oxen  are  required.  He  spoke  of  this  season 
as  one  particularly  severe  for  the  animals  on  account  of  the  scarcity 
of  water,  the  unusual  drought  having  dried  up  the  pasturage.  In 
these  unwieldy  wagons  the  produce  of  the  upper  states  is  carried 
to  Eosario,  and  all  foreign  goods  are,  in  return,  thus  forwarded  to 
the  interior.  The  time  occupied  in  the  trip,  including  halts  and 
incidental  delays,  is  from  ten  to  twelve  months. 

The  morning  after  the  ball  we  were  up  before  the  sun.  The 
master  of  the  posta  was  quite  sobered  by  a  long  sleep,  and  accept- 
ed gratefully  an  offer  of  yerba,  for  I  traveled  with  a  supply  for 
our  own  use ;  and  on  this  occasion  a  mate  prepared  by  Cornelius 
was  the  only  refreshment  preparatory  to  a  ride  of  eight  leagues. 
Drunkenness  is  a  rare  vice  in  La  Plata,  although  the  native  liquor, 
cana,  is  the  most  potent  I  have  ever  tasted ;  but  the  people  in  all 
parts  of  the  basin  and  in  every  class  of  life  eagerly  seek  a  matd. 
No  Chinaman  sips  his  tea  and  no  Turk  his  coffee  with  more  en- 
joyment. After  taking  it  in  the  morning,  I  could  ride  for  nearly 
the  whole  day  without  food  and  without  feeling  troubled  by 
hunger. 

At  midday  we  reached  the  town  of  Santiago  del  Estero,  sixty 
miles,  having  changed  horses  but  twice.  We  met  on  the  road 
another  tropa  of  twenty  wagons,  bound  to  Tucuman. 

Eighteen  miles  from  Santiago  we  again  forded  the  Dulce,  and 
found  its  waters  as  fresh  and  sweet  as  those  of  a  mountain  spring ; 
depth,  three  feet ;  width,  quarter  of  a  mile ;  course,  southwest. 

We  passed  that  morning,  in  our  ride  from  Perqui,  a  country 
fertile  and  admirably  diversified  by  wood  and  arable  lands ;  the 
wheat-fields  were  fine,  especially  as  we  approached  the  river,  where 
the  yield  is  sixty  almudes  to  one  of  seed. 

The  forests  of  quebracho  and  algorroba  are  large,  and  the  mimo- 
sas contribute  almost  as  much  to  the  comfort  of  man,  in  these 
western  states,  as  the  palm  in  other  parts  of  the  basin.  One  spe- 
cies of  algorroba  is  unequaled  as  fuel,  or  as  a  material  for  char- 
coal ;  and  the  bark,  foliage,  and  fruit  of  others  enter  into  the  do- 
mestic economy  of  every  household.  The  fruits  of  the  "blanca" 
and  "  negra"  are  much  prized  both  for  preserving  and  drying ;  in 


360 


TABLE  OF  DISTANCES. 


the  latter  state  they  are  not  unlike  dried  peaclies  :  and  fresh  from 
the  tree,  sell  readily  at  thirty -seven  to  fifty  cents  the  almude. 

The  following  are  the  postas  between  Cordova  and  Santiago 
del  Estero,  with  the  distances  established  by  the  respective  prov- 
inces— on  which  is  based  the  charge  for  horses  and  postillions — 
and  the  time  occupied  by  us  in  the  travel  from  one  to  the  other. 
The  charges  are  not  uniformly  the  same  in  all  the  provinces.  In 
some  they  are,  for  each  saddle-horse,  half  a  real — six  and  a  quar- 
ter cents — per  league,  and  double  this  sum  for  a  postillion  and 
cargaro  horse ;  while  in  others  the  charge  for  the  latter  is  one  and 
a  half  reals. 


1st  day. 


2d  day. 


3d  day. 


4tli  day. 


5th  day.  J 


From  Cordova  to  Posta  Moyen,  in 
Moyen  to  Guerra     .     . 
Guerra  to  Salitra     . 
Salitra  to  Las  Talas     . 
Las  Talas  to  Divisidero 
Divisidero  to  Yinta  Guasi 
Yinta  Guasi  to  El  Sala 
El  Sala  to  San  Pedro  . 
San  Pedro  to  Rosario    . 
Rosario  to  Las  Piedras 
Las  Piedras  to  Paso  del  Tigre 
Paso  del  Tigre  to  Porto  Suelo 
Porto  Suelo  to  Orquetas    . 
Orquetas  to  San  Antonio  . 
San  Antonio  to  Guardia    . 
Guardia  to  Pueste  del  Monte 
Pueste  del  Monte  to  Chilque 

Chilque  to 

to  Palumbala 

[     "     Palumbala  to  Perqui   . 
Perqui  to  La  Egira 
La  Egira  to  Cordero     . 
Cordero  to  Santiago 


Hours. 

3 
1 
0 
3 
1 
2 
0 
2 
0 
1 
1 
1 
1 
0 

1 

2 
1 
2 
1 
1 
2 
1 
1 


Arin. 

00 
30 
30 
10 
15 
15 
50 
00 
52 
45 
15 
40 
05 
40 
35 
30 
30 
15 
30 
25 
40 
10 
20 


T-eagueg, 

5 

5 
2 
8 
5 

3 
6 
3 

6 
4 

6 
4 

2 
5 

1 
4 
1 
6 
6 
8  j 
4  I 
4J 


Postas 
in  Cor- 
dova. 


Postas 
in  San- 
tiago. 


SANTIAGO.  361 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

Santiago. — Government  House. — Trade  and  Population. — No  Hotels. — Pair  of 
Gloves. — Visit  to  the  Governor. — Don  Taboado.  —  The  Boat.  —  Quintas  and 
Fruits. — Chills  at  Santiago. — The  Pic-nic. — The  Dulce. — Bed  of  the  Salado. — 
The  Saladillo.— The  Flor  del  aria.— The  Ulua.— Luxuriant  Foliage.— The  Slevre. 
— Bees. — TheToisimi. — Yaiia. — Moso  Moso. — Mestiso  Quilaya. — Cani. — Quella 
and  Alframisqui. — The  Eyrobana. — Wax. — The  Cochineal. — Lassoing  a  Mule. — 
Price  of  Mules. — Launching  the  Boat. — A  Bivouac. — Arrival  at  Salvador. — 
Banks  of  the  Salado. — Birds. — Estancia  Figarra. — "Que  Animal." — Arrival  at 
Matara. — The  Dance  and  the  little  Child. — The  Priests. — Incursions  of  the 
Chaco  Indians. — List  of  Trees. — Quebracho. — Algorroba. — Vinal. — Quilin. — 
Chafia. — Mistol. — Uinay. — Tala. — Puna. — Gumi. — Quimel. — Cardon. 

Santiago,  the  capital  of  tlie  state,  stands  some  half  mile  from 
the  Dulce,  in  latitude  27°  46'  20''  south,  longitude  64°  22'  15" 
west,*  and  contains  about  five  thousand  inhabitants.  It  present- 
ed an  aspect  of  decay.  Deserted,  dilapidated  houses  and  silent 
streets  only  offered  the  pleasant  enlivenment  of  business  with  the 
periodical  arrival  or  departure  of  tropas.  The  public  buildings 
are  a  government-house  and  three  churches.  One  of  the  latter 
and  many  dwellings  are  built  of  tapia\  in  that  district  of  country 
— a  perishable  material,  from  the  strong  impregnation  of  the  soil 
with  saltpetre.  Buildings  and  inclosures  of  it  were  crumbling 
under  the  action  of  the  elements,  antl  yet  a  church  in  Santa  Fe, 
constructed  of  this  same  material,  looked  as  if  it  might  stand  for 
ages :  indeed  it  had  become,  by  time  and  exposure,  as  hard  as 
granite.  The  government  house  is  a  substantial  brick  structure, 
with  spacious  apartments,  some  of  which  were  occupied  as  public 
offices:  the  reception-room  was  well  furnished  and  hung  with 
pictures,  many  of  them  portraits  of  distinguished  men  of  the  re- 
public. 

Six  hundred  and  fifty  miles  from  Rosario,  and  five  hundred 
and  ninety  from  Santa  Fe — the  outlets  of  this  country  upon  the 
Parana — distracted  by  political  factions,  and  devastated  by  the 
forays  of  Indians,  it  creates  no  astonishment  to  hear  that  San- 
tiago has  retrograded  since  the  establishment  of  independence ; 

*  Determined  by  meridional  difference  from  Cordova,  with  pocket-chronometer 
rated  at  the  latter  place. 

t  Enormous  adobes,  several  feet  in  length  by  some  two  or  three  in  thickness. 


362  GOVERNOR  TABOADO. 

and  yet  it  has  a  population  of  50,000  souls,  distinguislied  in  La 
Plata  as  industrious  and  enterprising.  As  its  resources  are  great, 
we  may  fairly  conclude  that  it  only  awaits  a  development  which 
it  must  receive  under  the  Confederation  and  the  administration 
of  its  present  governor,  Don  Manuel  Taboado,  who  is  a  man  of 
integrity  and  energy.  He  was  ill  at  the  time  I  arrived  ;  but  my 
reception  by  Don  Juan  F.  Borjas,  the  gobernador  delegado  (deputy 
governor),  was  marked  by  civility.  Apartments,  for  there  are  no 
hotels  in  Santiago,  were  assigned  us  at  the  Government  House, 
where,  as  the  guest  of  the  state,  not  only  was  every  want  antici- 
pated by  servants  in  constant  attendance,  but  all  the  luxuries  and 
comforts  that  the  town  afforded  were  unostentatiously  supplied. 
I  was  afraid  to  attempt  the  purchase  of  the  smallest  article,  for  it 
was  promptly  famished,  and  the  money  invariably  returned.  I 
sent  Cornelius  for  a  pair  of  gloves ;  he  brought  me  some  of  ex- 
cellent quality,  together  with  the  money  which  I  had  given  him. 

"But  how  is  this?  Why  did  you  not  pay  for  them?"  I  in- 
quired. 

"  You  can  pay  for  nothing  here,  Sir,"  was  the  reply. 

I  called  at  the  governor's  private  residence,  and  found  him  con- 
fined to  his  bed.  It  was  quite  unnecessary  to  explain  the  object 
of  my  visit  to  Santiago.  He  anticipated  an  exploration  of  the 
Salado  with  impatience,  as  a  work  the  success  of  which  would 
insure  the  prosperity  of  all  the  western  states.  I  told  him  that 
a  raft  or  boat  of  some  kind  was  necessary. 

"  There  is  a  skiff"  eighteen*  feet  by  three  in  the  Eio  Dulce.  Will 
it  answer  your  purpose  ?"  he  kindly  suggested. 

"  But  we  are  forty  or  fifty  miles  from  the  Salado." 

"  The  boat  shall  be  transported  to  the  river  by  ox-cart,  and 
I  will  follow  with  a  military  escort.  If  agreeable  to  you,  my 
brother.  General  Antonio,  will  accompany  you,  for  he  speaks  the 
Quichua,  and  may  be  useful  in  communicating  with  the  people." 

Such  were  the  encouraging  offers  of  Governor  Taboado. 

While  awaiting  the  return  of  the  general,  who  was  at  his  es- 
tancia,  I  accepted  the  hospitalities  of  several  families  of  the  city, 
and  visited  some  of  the  really  pretty  quintas  that  dot  its  envi- 
rons. Notwithstanding  the  severe  drought  of  six  month's  dura- 
tion, the  alfalfa,  or  alfa,  was  most  luxuriant;  for  the  lands  gen- 
erally were  well  irrigated  by  the  waters  of  the  Dulce,  which  was 
conducted  through  them  by  a  main  and  lateral  canals.  A  quinta 
(country  seat)  of  ten  acres  pays  a  low  tax  of  two  dollars  per  an- 


A  PIC-NIC— DEPARTURE.  -ggg 

num  for  the  use  of  this  water,  whicli  is  let  into  the  canals  at  in- 
tervals of  two  weeks.  • 

Peach,  fig,  pomegranate,  and  orange  trees  were  growing  vigor- 
ously, side  by  side,  in  the  same  garden,  and  bore,  I  was  told,  in 
their  season,  fruit  in  great  perfection.  The  fig-tree  attains  a  con- 
siderable size ;  some  were  ten  inches  in  diameter,  through  the 
trunk,  and  from  thirty  to  forty  feet  in  height.  Cotton  is  peren- 
nial, and  yields  abundantly  for  ten  years ;  but  I  saw  only  a  few 
straggling  plants,  for  the  cultivation  has  entirely  ceased  since  the 
introduction  of  the  manufactured  article. 

The  salubrity  of  the  climate  is  unequaled.  Fevers  of  a  malig- 
nant type  are  unknown.  In  the  whole  state  there  is  neither  phy- 
sician nor  apothecary ;  for  here,  as  in  Paraguay,  the  indigenous 
vegetation  furnishes  remedios  for  all  diseases  known.  One  day 
during  my  stay  I  was  ill,  and  certainly  thought  I  had  a  chill ;  but 
this  was  considered  impossible. 

*'  Ah,  no,  Senor,"  said  my  visitors,  earnestly,  "  the  ague  is  un- 
known in  Santiago." 

We  were  invited  by  several  prominent  citizens  to  a  pic-nic  at  a 
short  distance  from  the  town  on  the  banks  of  the  Dulce.  Our 
conveyance  was  the  governor's  little  boat,  in  which  we  pushed 
off,  and  made  all  sail  up  stream ;  but  the  craft,  governed  more  by 
the  current  than  sail  or  rudder,  would  run  bows  mto  the  bank  on 
one  side,  and  stern  on  to  a  fiat  the  other,  until,  heartily  weary, 
we  landed,  and,  with  our  guns,  followed  the  picturesque  banks  of 
the  river.  An  ample  collation  was  afterward  spread  under  the 
shade  of  an  algorroba.  Among  other  luxuries  provided,  and 
they  were  many,  was  English  ale,  which  is  so  greatly  relished  in 
every  part  of  La  Plata.  British  enterprise  had  sent  it  over  the 
ocean  and  up  the  river  to  Rosario,  from  whence  it  had  been 
brought  six  hundred  and  fifty  miles  across  the  pampas  in  wag- 
ons. 

On  the  8th  of  September,  the  day  fixed  for  our  departure,  the 
boat,  lashed  upon  an  ox-cart,  was  dispatched  across  the  country ; 
and  we  followed  in  the  governor's  carriage,  a  barouche  drawn  by 
four  horses,  each  mounted  by  a  postillion.  We  forded  the  Dulce, 
about  a  mile  from  the  town.  At  that  point  its  width  was  four 
hundred  yards ;  depth  four  feet,  which,  by  marks  on  the  banks, 
I  knew  to  be  ten  feet  below  its  highest  rise.  The  water  was  per- 
fectly fresh  and  sweet,  although  the  constant  recurrence  of  the 
efQorescences   of  saltpetre,  showed  how  strongly  the  adjacent 


364  EIVER  CHANGES. 

lands  were  impregnated.  Before  reaclimg  tlie  river,  we  passed  a 
belting  of  sandy  hillocks,  irregularly  thrown  up,  as  if  by  the  wind, 
and  partially  covered  with  vegetation.  They  reminded  me  strik- 
ingly of  the  sand-dunes  of  our  .east  coast.  Can  it  be  possible  that 
these  lands,  more  than  seven  hundred  miles  from  the  ocean,  once 
bordered  a  great  estuary  ? 

Having  left  the  capital  at  rather  a  late  hour  of  the  day,  we 
stopped  for  the  night  at  the  estancia  of  a  friend  of  General  Tabo- 
ado.  Although  it  was  one  of  the  better  order  of  country  houses, 
our  cots  were  placed  out  of  doors ;  for  to  sleep  in  the  open  air 
seems  to  be  the  universal  habit  of  all  classes  in  good  weather,  and 
so  deliciously  pure  is  the  atmosphere  that  no  apprehension  of  risk 
to  the  health  need  be  entertained. 

On  the  9th,  at  an  early  hour,  after  having,  as  usual,  taken  mat^, 
we  continued  our  journey,  and  soon  passed  the  ox-cart,  lumbering 
along  slowly  with  the  exploring  craft.  Three  leagues  from  Estan- 
cia Taboado  we  crossed  a  wide  flat,  which  twenty  years  ago  was 
the  bed  of  the  Salado ;  now  that  river  courses  four  leagues  farther 
north  of  it.  The  structure  of  the  land  is  promotive  of  these 
changes,  but  the  direct  cause  is  found  in  the  undisturbed  accumu- 
lation of  drift-wood  which  at  certain  points  so  entirely  obstructs 
the  channel  that,  during  the  season  of  flood,  the  waters  assume  a 
new  direction.  Again,  they  may  be  ascribed  to  the  harricados^ 
the  primitive  bridges  of  the  country,  which  are  formed  by  fell- 
ing trees  on  both  banks;  these,  falling  in  the  river,  collect  all 
floating  material,  and  in  time  quite  a  substantial  passage-way  is 
formed. 

The  Saladillo,  now  called  a  branch  of  the  Salado,  though  a  few  ■ 
years  since  it  was  the  principal  channel,  separates  from  the  main 
stream  ten  miles  above  the  Estancia  Taboado,  and  unites  with  it 
twenty-seven  mUes  below,  forming  an  island  thirty-six  miles  in 
length  by  from  three  to  six  in  breadth,  which  has  a  population  of 
3600  souls,  and  furnishes  six  hundred  fighting  men.  It  is  well 
wooded,  and  the  soil,  a  dark  alluvium,  yields  fine  crops  of  wheat 
and  corn. 

On  reaching  the  estancia,  we  had  passed  a  distance  of  fifty -three 
miles  from  the  capital,  over  a  sandy  level  country ;  some  districts 
of  it  are  populous  and  well  cultivated  in  wheat  and  corn,  while 
others  were  intersected  by  fine  forests.  In  riding  through  the 
woodlands  I  saw  some  of  the  noblest  forms  of  the  mimosas,  such 
as  the  white  and  black  algorrobas,  the  thorny  vinal,  the  quilin, 


VEGETABLE  AND  ANIMAL  LIFE.  355 

and  chaua ;  also  tlie  uinay,  with  its  floral  barometer,*  tlie  jumi,f 
and  a  variety  of  other  shrubs,  which,  if  less  useful,  yet  enriched 
the  woods  by  their  clusters  of  bright  flowers.  Many  a  tree  was 
inwrapped  and  festooned  with  the  most  delicately  fragrant  and 
beautiful  of  all  epiphytes,  pointed' out  to  me  as  the  Jhr  del  aria, 
and  by  the  climbing  cactus  ulua,  with  its  creamy  white  and  trum- 
pet-shaped flowers.  The  cardon  of  the  toisimi  bee,  the  tuna  of 
the  cochineal,  and  other  gigantic  cacti  covered  the  plains,  all  so 
luxuriant  and  verdant  in  this  first  spring  month  that  it  was  difii- 
cult  to  realize  a  periodic  stagnation.  It  was  a  striking  feature, 
and  one  that  could  not  fail  to  impress  a  casual  observer  or  the 
most  careless  mind,  that  all  the  powers  of  this  nature  were  made 
tributary  to  the  wants  of  the  people  of  the  country ;  every  tree, 
every  shrub  and  flower,  bark,  foliage,  and  fruit,  seemed  to  enter 
into  their  domestic  economy. 

If  there  was  less  afiiuence  in  the  animal  life,  it  nevertheless  of- 
fered new  and  varied  objects  of  interest.  I  shot  with  my  carbine 
a  llevre,  the  hare  of  La  Plata,  and  the  first  that  I  had  seen ;  it  was 
of  a  glossy  bright  squirrel -gray,  with  yellowish-white  belly,  and 
measured  two  feet  from  nose  to  tail.  I  also  brought  down  a  par- 
tridge, bearing  a  strong  family  resemblance  to  the  large  bird  of 
Entre  Rios,  but  in  certain  points  differing  very  materially.  It 
is  larger,  the  neck  much  longer,  the  legs  shorter,  and  upon  its 
head  is  a  crest  of  a  few  long  feathers ;  its  eggs,  about  the  size  of 
those  of  a  hen,  are  a  rich  dark  green,  and  as  smooth  as  the  finest 
and  most  highly-glazed  porcelain.  Scarcely  had  we  gotten  be- 
yond hearing  of  the  shrieking  chuna,  a  quail  we  had  seen  in  Para- 
guay and  Corrientes,  when  we  were  saluted  by  the  shrill  notes  of 
another  bird  of  the  same  family,  but  differing  in  size  and  plumage. 

The  bee  abounds,  and  eight  distinct  species  are  recognized  :  the 
tiosimi,  yana,  moso  moso,  mestiso  quilaya,  cani,  quella,  and  alpa- 
misqui.  These  Indian  names  are  significant  of  the  characteristics 
of  these  industrious  and  useful  insects.  The  people  of  the  country 
revel  in  the  rich  supplies  they  afibrd  of  a  delicious  and  invigorat- 
ing food.  I  ate  of  several  of  these  varieties  of  honey,  and  pre- 
ferred above  all  others  that  of  the  toisimi  bee,  known  as  the  car- 
don honey ;  for  it  is  only  found  in  the  trunk  of  that  cactus.  Ex- 
pressed from  the  comb,  it  becomes  after  a  few  months  perfectly 

*  The  country  people  note  the  opening  and  closing  of  the  flower  of  the  uiflay  as 
an  unfailing  indication  of  atmospheric  changes, 
t  From  which  potash  is  obtained. 


Se6  VARIETIES  OF  HONEY. 

white  and  granulated;  and  when  eaten  with  bread  or  parched 
com*  is  considered  delicious  and  sustaining.  The  Santiaganians 
prefer  the  cardon,  but  they  also  highly  prize  the  lechiguana, 
the  product  of  a  bee  which  makes  its  hive  in  trees,  and  feeds 
upon  the  first  spring  flowers ;  for  the  flavor  of  the  honey  depends 
upon  the  food  of  the  insect ;  the  comb  looks  as  if  formed  of  the 
finest  tissue  paper,  and  has  no  admixture  of  wax.  Myriads 
of  bees  exist  in  the  Chaco,  bordering  the  Salado ;  and  large  par- 
ties, provided  with  wide  sacks  and  a  provision  of  parched  corn, 
cross  over  in  the  month  of  December  to  collect  the  produce  of  the 
wild  hives.  They  take  very  good  care,  however,  not  to  venture 
beyond  the  woods  and  plain  immediately  adjacent  to  the  river; 
for  with  the  Indians  also  honey  is  a  staple  article  of  food,  and  they 
prefer  above  all  other  varieties  one  that  is  found  in  that  region — 
the  eyrobana,  which  is  the  deposit  of  a  bee  that  feeds  upon  the 
fragrant  ybirapaye.  Forlorn,  emaciated  invalids  join  these  par- 
ties, and,  after  an  absence  of  a  few  weeks,  return  fat,  well,  and  so 
changed  that  it  is  like  the  working  of  a  miracle.  This  is  ascribed 
to  the  properties  of  the  wild  honey,  which,  with  parched  corn,  is 
for  the  time  the  only  food  of  those  engaged  in  these  expeditions. 

A  considerable  quantity  of  wax  is  still  sold  to  the  village  mer- 
chants, and  finds  its  way  to  the  neighboring  provinces;  but  the 
trade  in  this  article  must  have  diminished ;  for,  according  to  Aza- 
ra,  ten  thousand  pounds  were  collected  annually  in  Santiago  be- 
fore the  Eevolution.  The  process  of  preparing  it  for  sale  is  simple 
enough.  The  comb  is  boiled  in  water,  which  is  frequently  stirred, 
and  as  the  wax  rises  to  the  surface,  a  bunch  of  twigs  is  immersed, 
to  which  it  adheres;  it  is  then  bleached  by  a  daily  exposure  to 
the  action  of  the  sun  for  some  weeks. 

Cochineal  was,  before  the  Eevolution,  a  staple  export  from  San- 
tiago ;  ten  thousand  pounds  having  been  sent  annually  to  Chili 
and  Peru.  Now  it  is  gathered  only  for  home  consumption,  and 
may  be  readily  recognized  in  the  brilliant  scarlet  ponchos  and 
coarse  woolen  goods  of  the  country.  I  believe  that  any  amount 
could  be  exported ;  for  the  cactus  opuniia,  or  tujaa,  upon  which  it 
is  found,  abounds  in  every  part  of  the  state.  The  Jesuits  discov- 
ered that  the  quality  of  the  cochineal  was  improved  and  the 
quantity  increased  by  cultivating  the  tuna. 

The  Estancia  Taboado  embraced  several  square  leagues ;  but 
this  was  a  very  small  part  of  the  landed  estate  of  a  family  of  three 

*  There  is  a  small  corn  or  maize  planted  expressly  for  this  purpose. 


MULE-BREAKING.  367 

brothers  and  two  sisters,  wlio  hold  their  property  of  every  de- 
scription in  community  of  interest.  There,  for  the  first  time,  I 
saw  mules  broken  for  service ;  the  general  having,  at  the  time  of 
my  visit,  just  received  a  lot  from  Buenos  Ayres.  The  mule  was 
lassoed  and  dragged  forth  from  the  corral  to  a  short  post,  around 
which  the  lasso  was  skillfully  wound,  as  the  animal  attempted  to 
escape.  A  cloth  was  then  thrown  over  the  eyes,  and  the  head 
drawn  close  to  the  post ;  one  man  gave  the  ear  a  violent  twitch, 
another  girded  on  the  ricado  with  great  force,  and  fixed  a  very 
primitive  hide  bridle,  without  a  bit,  to  the  lower  jaw.  The  do- 
mador,  equipped  with  enormous  spurs,  then  sprung  upon  the  ri- 
cado ;  and  at  the  same  moment,  the  mule  released  from  the  post, 
and  relieved  of  the  bandage  over  his  eyes,  dashed  off  with  arched 
back,  head  between  his  legs,  leaping,  bounding,  kicking,  or  turn- 
ing as  on  a  pivot.  All  was  of  no  avail  in  unseating  the  rider, 
who,  at  every  vicious  movement,  only  plunged  his  enormous 
spurs  deeper  into  the  creature's  side.  At  last  the  battle  ended ; 
they  re-entered  the  corral ;  the  man  cool  and  unmoved,  the  mule 
utterly  exhausted  and  completely  under  the  control  of  the  rider. 

This  operation  is  severe;  but  after  a  few  trials  the  beast  is 
tamed,  and  soon  learns  to  associate  the  will  of  its  rider  with  the 
rein.  The  domador  is,  as  may  be  supposed,  an  important  charac- 
ter in  all  pastoral  establishments ;  and  without  appearing  to  exer- 
cise any  great  muscular  force,  his  feats  of  horsemanship  and  his 
skill  in  breaking  the  wildest  animals  are  marvelous. 

These  mules  at  Estancia  Taboado  were  purchased  in  Buenos 
Ayres  for  five  and  a  half  dollars  apiece,  and  brought  to  Santiago 
by  a  capitaz,  assisted  by  several  peons.  Forty  dollars  to  the  capi- 
taz,  twelve  to  each  peon,  and  one  per  mule,  were  the  expenses  oi* 
the  road.  On  the  day  after  their  arrival  the  general  sold  two 
thirds  of  them  at  eighteen  dollars  apiece.  The  animals,  when 
fattened  and  tamed,  are  driven  to  Salta  and  Bolivia,  where  they 
are  sold  at  trebled  and  quadrupled  prices.  The  demand  for  them 
is  constant,  and  it  will  always  continue  to  be  a  profitable  trade,  as 
they  furnish  the  only  means  of  transportation  across  the  Andes 
for  the  produce  and  merchandise  of  Bolivia  to  and  from  her  Pa- 
cific port,  Cobija.  At  the  period  of  my  visit  horned  cattle  in 
Santiago  were  worth  from  nine  to  ten  dollars,  and  hides  four. 

Although  the  population  and  exports  of  Cordova  are  greater 
than  those  of  Santiago,  I  observed  in  the  latter  state  that  the  cul- 
tivation of  the  soil  was  pursued  with  greater  skill ;  indeed,  this  is 


368  FIRST  BOAT  ON  THE  SALADILLO. 

more  of  an  agricultural  tlian  a  grazing  country,  and  one  in  whicli 
I  met,  almost  for  the  first  time  in  the  Argentine  Confederation,  a 
laboring  class,  industrious,  robust,  and  civil  to  strangers.  But 
without  a  market  for  his  produce,  the  Santiaganian  farmer  has  no 
stimulus  to  do  more  than  meet  the  demands  of  the  inhabitants  of 
his  own  state. 

Septemher  llth^  1855.  Our  little  craft  arrived  in  the  afternoon, 
and  was  launched  upon  the  Saladillo  in  the  presence  of  a  number 
of  admiring  but  greatly  astonished  peons ;  for  in  the  whole  coun- 
try it  was  the  only  boat,  and  the  first  within  the  memory  of  liv- 
ing man,  that  had  floated  upon  the  waters  of  the  Salado, 

September  14tih.  All  preparations  were  completed,  and  having 
made  the  necessary  astronomical  observations,  which  placed  the 
Estancia  Taboado  in  latitude  27°  20'  25''  south,  longitude  64°  08' 
25"  west,  I  commenced  my  exploration,  accompanied  in  the  little 
boat  by  General  Taboado,  Acting  Lieutenant  Murdaugh,  Cornehus, 
and  three  peons. 

As  the  governor  had  ordered  the  commander  of  the  river  dis- 
tricts to  afford  any  required  assistance,  we  found  parties  of  men 
at  different  points  ready  and  willing  to  remove  all  obstructions. 
The  united  labor  of  ten,  fifteen,  and  even  twenty  men  was  some- 
times required  to  cut  a  passage  through  the  barricados  (bridges) 
of  trees;  but  the  peons,  singing  and  joking,  with  axe  in  hand, 
dashed  into  the  river,  and,  with  the  water  sometimes  up  to  their 
waists,  worked  with  a  vigor  and  will  that  quite  astonished  me. 
It  can  not  be  supposed  that  these  laborers  comprehended  ftilly 
the  importance  of  opening  this  channel,  but  they  evidently  enter- 
tained a  high  respect  for  their  governor  and  general,  and  were 
anxious  to  please  them.  At  every  stopping-place  crowds  of  men, 
women,  and  children  came  down  to  the  river  with  offerings  of 
chickens,  eggs,  and  honey. 

By  sunset  we  had  accomplished  sixteen  miles,  and  finding  at 
this  point  but  twelve  inches  water,  I  determined  to  make  a  pas- 
sage across  the  island  to  the  main  stream.  In  a  short  time — for  I 
would  listen  to  no  mafiana  (to-morrow) — an  ox-cart  was  moving 
overland  freighted  with  the  little  craft,  and  we  bivouacked  around 
a  comfortable  fire,  for  the  nights  were  yet  quite  cool,  Eefi:-eshed 
by  a  mate  and  a  supper  of  asado,  cut  from  a  bullock  which  was 
a  few  minutes  before  grazing  upon  the  adjacent  pastures,  with 
ricado  for  pillow,  feet  to  the  fire,  and  an  aspect  of  the  heavens 
above  us  that  would  have  delighted  any  cloud-weary  reader  of 


KIVER  NAVIGATION.  359 

the  starry  worlds,  we  dozed  away,  thinking  the  soft  grass  no  bad 
bed. 

At  dawn  the  next  morning,  the  15th,  we  started  across  the  isl- 
and, and,  taking  a  southeast  direction,  passed  several  villages,  and 
found  the  country  fertile  and  populous. 

At  Salvador,  four  leagues  from  our  stopping-place  of  the  14th,  we  • 
reached  the  Salado,  and  again  launched  our  little  boat.  The  width 
of  the  river  at  this  point  was  fifty  feet ;  at  high  water  it  is  one 
hundred  and  iifty.  It  had  a  depth  of  twelve  inches  on  the  shoal- 
est  places,  and  a  current  of  one  mile  the  hour.  The  banks  rise 
abruptly  from  twenty  to  thirty  feet,  and  were  belted  by  the  finest 
algorrobas,  vinals,  and  sauses  that  I  had  yet  seen  in  La  Plata. 
From  this  vicinity  is  taken  the  alcaparosa,  a  metalline  substance 
which,  when  boiled  with  the  leaves  of  the  molle,  yields  an  une- 
qualed  black  dye.     Quantities  of  cochineal  are  also  collected  here. 

Making  four  miles  an  hour  we  reached  the  mouth  of  the  Sala- 
dillo  in  one  hour  and  a  half.  After  passing  this  point  the  river 
becomes  wider,  less  tortuous ;  and  the  obstructions  were  only 
such  as  could  be  readily  removed  by  half  a  dozen  men  armed 
with  axes  and  lassos.  We  passed  a  chain  of  sweet-water  lakes 
about  half  a  mile  north,  named,  as  they  appeared,  Salvador,  Mir- 
avilla,  Tigeroa.  A  small  branch  of  the  Salado  flows  into  this  lat- 
ter, and  again  reunites  with  the  main  river  some  distance  below 
by  a  fall  of  ten  feet.* 

We  saw  vast  numbers  of  the  charata.  The  same  bird  is  found 
on  the  Paraguay  and  Vermejo,  where  it  is  known  as  the  "  gallina 
del  monte."  Its  note  is  very  peculiar.  When  startled  it  makes 
a  shrill  shrieking  cry,  which  is  instantaneously  taken  up  and 
responded  to  by  many  others,  as  if  to  give  warning  of  the 
approach  of  an  enemy.  At  Cruz  Bajada  we  stopped  at  sunset, 
and  around  a  good  fire,  kindled  upon  the  banks,  passed  the 
night. 

September  16ih.  As  our  crew,  who  never  before  saw  a  boat,  were 
not  very  skillful  navigators,  we  were  obliged  to  stop  for  an  hour 
or  two  at  the  Estancia  Figarra  and  repair  the  rudder,  which  had 
been  injured  in  running  foul  of  a  snag.  Here  we  obtained  a 
meridian  altitude,  which  determined  the  bajada  (landing)  of  this 
estancia  to  be  latitude  27°  42'  24"  south.  From  this  point  the 
river  increased  in  width,  depth,  and  current ;  the  adjacent  coun- 
try was  fertile  and  comparatively  populous.     We  passed  several 

*  At  the  state  of  the  river  when  I  examined  it. 

24 


370  ASTONISHING  THE  NATIVES.  ^ 

estancias,  tlie  largest  of  wliich,  Candelaria,  is  quite  a  village. 
Having  made  thirty  miles,  we  stopped  for  the  night  at  the  Estan- 
cia  Catchi,  where  we  feasted  on  cardon  honey  and  popped  corn,* 
sent  us  by  the  master  of  the  estate. 

Septemher  17 ih.  The  general  course  of  the  river  was  southeast, 
,  with,  as  yet,  no  obstructions  but  those  arising  from  fallen  trees, 
through  which  a  passage  was  cut  for  the  boat.  Its  characteristics 
and  those  of  the  adjacent  country  were  very  unvarying.  The 
surface-soil  of  the  latter  is  a  rich  vegetable  deposit  of  from  two  to 
four  feet,  resting  upon  an  argillaceous  formation  of  remarkable 
uniformity.  For  two  days  I  had  traced  a  stratum  of  green  clay, 
without  a  break  in  it,  from  three  to  six  inches  thick,  and  contain- 
ing innumerable  minute  shells :  it  varied  in  distance  below  the 
surface  from  fifteen  to  twenty  feet,  and  was  at  that  time  just 
above  the  water-level. 

The  appearance  of  the  Conquistadores  among  the  aborigines 
could  scarcely  have  excited  a  more  lively  curiosity  than  did  our 
little  exploring  craft.  At  the  Estancia  Lojlo,  where  stand  a 
chapel  and  several  dwelling-houses,  a  number  of  people  had  as- 
sembled from  far  and  near  to  see  the  boat.  It  was  the  wonder  of 
the  country. '  A  horse,  mule,  ox-cart,  or  hide  balsa  were  the  only 
modes  of  conveyance  familiar  to  these  simple  people,  who  would 
laugh,  look  at  the  skiff,  then  at  each  other,  and  exclaim  '  Que 
animal  r  Several  times,  in  rounding  a  bend  of  the  river,  we 
came  suddenly  upon  parties  of  men  and  women  fishing  or  wash- 
ing, who  had  heard  nothing  of  the  expedition.  At  sight  of  us 
they  would  dart  off  into  the  woods  as  if  pursued  by  a  legion  of 
evil  spirits.  The  general  would  call  out  some  reassuring  words 
in  their  own  language,  when  one  would  timidly  appear,  then  an- 
other. How  they  laughed  and  gesticulated,  and  what  a  volume 
of  rich  Quichua  they  poured  out  in  explaining  how,  at  our  ap- 
proach, none  had  stopped  for  a  second  look ;  for  one  had  taken 
the  boat  for  a  huge  beast,  others  supposed  that  we  were  hostile 
Indians  in  a  novel  disguise.  As  we  advanced,  numerous  other 
visitors,  who,  like  those  at  the  Estancia  Lojlo,  had  heard  of  us 
and  had  traveled  from  a  distance,  brought  with  them  offerings  of 
honey,  popped  corn,  eggs,  and  chickens. 

We  saw  quite  a  number  of  estancias  which,  from  their  dilapi- 
dated jJnd  abandoned  condition,  showed  that  the  marauding  In- 

*  A  small  grain  is  cultivated  expressly  for  this  use.  When  roasted  it  bursts  and 
expands  to  tenfold  its  original  size.     With  wild  honey  it  is  delicious. 


MATARA.  371^ 

dians  had  carried  tlieir  forays  and  depredations  even  to  this  high 
point. 

Septemher  l^th.  Our  first  obstruction  was  a  barricado,  where  we 
found  twenty  men,  with  axes  and  lassos,  busily  cutting  a  passage. 
They  were  working  with  a  will,  though  up  to  their  waists  in  wa- 
ter. At  3  P.M.  we  arrived  at  Matara,  having  accomplished  that 
day  twenty-three  miles. 

To  this  point  we  had  made  ninety-six  miles  from  Salvador,  and 
had  found  no  grave  difficulties  in  the  navigation.  The  banks 
rose  from  twenty  to  thirty  feet  above  the  water,  and  at  that  sea- 
son showed  no  indications  of  recent  washing,  such  as  might  arise 
from  a  strong  current.  The  course  of  the  river  generally  was 
marked  by  a  wooded  belting,  and  the  adjacent  country  was  pop- 
ulous and  well  cultivated.  ; 

Should  the  Salado  prove  navigable  to  the  Parana,  Matara  must, 
from  its  central  position,  be  a  place  of  some  trade.  It  is  about 
three  quarters  of  a  mile,  west-northwest,  from  the  point  at  which 
we  landed,  and  is,  by  our  determination,  in  latitude  28°  07'  14" 
south,  and  longitude  63°  43'  lb"  west.  It  has  now  a  population 
of  only  five  hundred  souls,  although  twenty  years  ago  it  was  a 
place  of  consideration,  and  the  residence  of  some  of  the  wealthiest 
famihes  of  the  province.  The  repeated  incursions  of  the  Indians, 
and  the  constant  apprehension  in  which  even  the  inhabitants  of 
the  town  Hved,  have  caused  the  abandonment  of  estancias,  and 
the  removal  of  families  to  other  parts  of  the  state, 

Septemher  19th.  The  weather  was  too  cloudy  for  observations 
when  we  arrived  at  Matara ;  and,  being  anxious  to  determine  its 
position  satisfactorily,  I  accepted  the  commandante's  offer  of  hos- 
pitality, and  took  possession  of  one  of  the  many  deserted  houses 
of  the  place. 

It  was  the  conceit  of  an  old  Italian  painter,*  in  his  picture  of 
the  "  Judgment  Day,"  to  represent  men  and  women  entering 
heaven  with  the  faces  of  infants.  At  Matara  I  witnessed  a  more 
curious  illustration  of  the  idea  that  "of  such  is  the  kingdom  of 
heaven."  On  the  evening  of  our  arrival  we  were  invited  to  a 
dance.  The  ball-room  was  a  -^ell-swept,  well-beaten  yard ;  the 
orchestra  a  bench ;  and  its  one  musician  a  harpist,  whose  instru- 
ment was  quite  as  primitive  as  that  of  the  maiden  at  Posta  Per- 
qui.  The  guests  were  the  inhabitants  of  the  town  generally ;  the 
refreshments  a  jug  of  cana,  from  which  all  took  a  pull  in  turn. 

*  Fra  Angelico,  of  Fiesole. 


372  THE  ANGEL'S  DANCE. 

The  occasion  of  tlie  fete  was  the  death  of  an  infant.  The  child 
had  been  taken  to  form  one  of  the  choir  of  rejoicing  angels,  and 
the  parents  must  manifest  their  gratitude  to  the  Omnipotent.  So 
friends  were  summoned ;  and  with  the  little  body  gayly  attired, 
and  placed  upon  a  platform  covered  with  fragrant  flowers,  moth- 
er, father,  and  relatives  danced  merrily,  as  upon  a  festive  occa- 
sion. General  Taboado  told  me  that  the  body  would  be  borrow- 
ed by  the  intimate  friends  for  other  dances,  until,  touched  by  de- 
cay, it  would  be  "  sown  in  dishonor"  to  be  "  raised  in  glory." 

Our  visit  to  the  town  was  also  the  occasion  of  a  ball,  given  the 
next  evening,  in  the  inclosure  fronting  the  house  which  I  occu- 
pied. The  arrangements  were  not  more  ambitious  than  those  of 
the  "  angel's  dance."  The  guests  were  barefooted  generally ;  and 
our  ball-room  was  lighted  by  tallow  candles  stuck  on  boards. 
This  was  primitive  enough ;  but  there  was  no  vulgarity.  Drunk- 
enness never  disgraces  these  festive  meetings,  and  the  presence  of 
a  rowdy  inebriate  would  have  caused  more  sensation  here  than 
in  more  civihzed  regions.  Men  and  women,  utterly  uneducated 
as  most  of  them  were,  had  yet  a  native  dignity  of  manner  that 
imparted  something  of  elegance  even  to  a  Salado  ball.  Here, 
bordering  on  the  wilds  of  the  Chaco,  where  the  party  may  be 
broken  up  at  any  moment  by  the  war-whoop  of  the  savage,  danc- 
ing is  the  favorite  amusement  of  the  people,  and  the  village  belle 
and  the  leaders  of  ton  are  not  the  pretty  or  the  rich,  but  the  most 
graceful  in  the  dance.  r 

Matara  has  a  church ;  but,  until  within  a  few  days  of  our  ar- 
rival, the  inhabitants  had  been  without  clerical  aid  for  two  years. 
A  priest,  who  accompanied  Governor  Taboado  with  the  hope 
of  forming  a  mission  in  the  Chaco,  finding  this  the  case,  had  re- 
mained. The  present  Pope  Pius  IX.,  in  the  earlier  years  of  his 
career,  labored  in  La  Plata ;  and  many  of  the  clergy  at  this  time 
are  educated  foreigners,  who,  in  the  work  of  God,  exhibit  a  noble, 
self-sacrificing,  missionary  spirit,  and  deservedly  enjoy  great  in- 
fluence. The  padre  is  the  friend  and  adviser  of  all  classes ;  his 
house  is  the  radiating  point  of  every  village.  He  is  supposed  to 
be  incapable  of  wrong;  but  when  "found  wanting,"  he  is  most 
summarily  dealt  with.  The  last  priest  at  this  village  had  been 
banished  the  state  for  malpractices. 

There  were  many  persons  at  Matara  who  had  recently  fled  from 
the  estancias  below.  The  forays  of  the  Indians  had  at  that  time  be- 
come almost  monthly  occurrences,  the  savages  generally  selecting 


TREES  AND  SHRUBS.  373 

a  moonliglit  niglit,  and  moving  in  parties  large  enougli  to  overawe 
any  hastily  collected  force.  They  swim  or  ford  the  Salado,  de- 
scend suddenly  and  noiselessly  upon  the  country  ;  drive  off  horses 
and  cattle ;  kill  all  who  oppose  them ;  dash  into  the  river,  driv- 
ing the  stolen  animals  before  them;  regain  the  opposite  shore, 
and  disappear  in  the  wilds  of  the  Chaco  before  the  dawn  of 
day. 

It  seems  unaccountable  that  the  population  upon  this  river,  ap- 
parently industrious  and  physically  capable  of  defense,  should  not 
unite  to  protect  themselves ;  but  generally  they  are  without  lire- 
arms,  and  the  predecessor  of  Governor  Taboado,  appointed  by 
Eosas,  had  done  nothing  to  assist  them.  At  the  period  of  my 
visit  the  new  Confederation  had  organized  no  system  of  protec- 
tion, and  the  few  military  posts  established  were  sustained  entirely 
by  the  energy  and  patriotism  of  the  Taboados  and  a  few  kindred 
spirits. 

I  append  to  this  chapter  a  list  of  the  trees  and  shrubs  that  I  saw 
in  the  ride  from  the  town  of  Santiago  to  the  Salado,  and  to  which 
my  attention  was  directed  by  General  Taboado. 

The  Quebracho  Colorado  and  Blanco.  The  Algorroha  Blanca  and 
Negra;  of  these  some  account  has  been  given.  The  Vinal.  the 
same  genus  as  the  algorroba,  similar  in  wood  and  fruit,  but  un- 
like in  leaf:  an  infusion  of  the  latter  is  a  remedy  for  inflamed 
eyes,  and  for  this  purpose  they  are  sent  to  Buenos  Ayres  in  con- 
siderable quantities  for  sale:  from  the  trunk  and  branches  pro- 
ject long  sharp  thorns.  The  Quilin,  another  of  the  mimosae ; 
thorny,  as  the  vinal ;  foliage  and  fruit  similar  to  that  of  the  al- 
gorroba. The  Ghana;  fruit  yellow;  as  timber,  suitable  for  all 
purposes  where  great  tenacity  is  required.  The  Mistol^  hard,  dur- 
able timber.  The  TJinay^  bearing  a  remarkable  flower,  which  in- 
dicates an  approaching  change  of  weather.  The  Tal/i^  good  tim- 
ber. The  Puna^  sause,  our  willow ;  molle,  a  shrub,  the  leaves  of 
which  are  used  as  tea.  The  Jumi^  the  shrub  producing  potash. 
The  Quimel,  cactus ;  large  leaf,  on  which  the  cochineal  feeds. 
The  Cardon^  cactus ;  trunk  short,  but  large ;  branches  octagonal. 
The  bee  toisimi  builds  its  hive  and  deposits  its  honey,  which  is 
superior  to  that  of  all  others,  in  this  cactus.  Many  varieties  of 
the  cactus ;  among  them  is  one  called  the  ulua,  a  climber,  with 
large  white  trumpet-flower.  Also  a  variety  of  shrubs  in  bloom, 
and  a  delicate  species  of  the  epiphyte,  the  "  Flor  del  Aria,"  of  de- 
licious odor. 


374  ^  INDIAN  FORAYS. 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

Bajada  Sause. — "Women  pursued  by  Indians. — Laguna  Toma  Caphuyan. — Estancia 
Gramilla  Bracho. — A  Night's  Sleep  interrupted  by  the  Governor's  Troop  in  pur- 
suit of  Indians. — Fording  the  Lagoon. — The  Scouts  on  the  Trail. — Indians  in 
Sight. — The  White  Men  defied. — A  Charge. — Another  Pursuit. — Disappearance 
in  the  Forest. — Hunger,  Thirst,  and  a  sound  Sleep  in  the  Rain. — The  old  Es- 
tancieros.  —  Hostility  of  the  Indians. — Navicha. — Paso  Sandia. — Pastixres. — 
Monte  Aquara. — Monte  Tigre. — Arrival  of  an  additional  Force. — Musquitoes 
and  Rain. — Farther  Advance  of  the  Party. — On  another  Trail. — Swimming  the 
River. — The  Volleys. — Indians. — The  would-be  Captive. — The  dying  Soldier. — 
The  Bullet  and  a  Cigar. — Monte  del  Muerta. — The  Current  running  up. — The 
Return. 

On  tlie  20t]i  I  left  Matara,  and  at  sunset  readied  Bajada  Saiise, 
having  made  sixteen  miles.  The  men,  who  moved  some  hours 
in  advance,  had  cut  a  passage  through  the  fallen  trees,  which  were 
still  the  only  impediments  to  navigation.  The  course  of  the  Sa- 
lado  and  the  physical  features  of  the  adjacent  lands  were  precisely 
those  that  have  been  noted  above  Matara.  At  the  night's  bivouac 
upon  the  banks  our  sympathies  were  strongly  excited  by  finding 
two  distressed  women  who  were  hiding  from  the  Indians.  Eight 
weeks  before  the  savages  descended  upon  the  neighboring  estan- 
cias,  killed  one  man,  and  drove  off  all  the  stock  they  could  find. 
The  inhabitants  offered  no  resistance,  but  fled  to  the  woods,  where 
these  two  women  had  been  wandering  ever  since,  rarely  remain- 
ing twenty-four  hours  in  any  one  place,  spending  their  days  upon 
the  banks  of  the  river,  and  their  nights  among  the  thickets  of  the 
forests.  The  only  property  they  had  saved  was  a  very  small 
flock  of  sheep ;  these,  they  told  us,  would  at  night  creep  close 
to  them  without  making  the  least  noise,  as  if  conscious  of  the 
vicinage  of  danger. 

From  Bajada  Sause  the  bordering  lands  became  more  and  more 
depressed,  until,  about  eight  miles  below,  they  merged  into  a  vast 
lagoon  called  Toma  Caphuyan  (Tom's  Hole),  from  five  to  six 
miles  in  width,  three  to  four  feet  deep,  and  covered  with  a  dense 
growth  of  tortora,  a  species  of  flag  common  in  the  marshes  of 
Eastern  Virginia.  The  men  had  cut  a  passage  through  it  wide 
enough  for  the  boat,  but  without  following  the  river  channel, 
which  was,  wherever  our  course  crossed  it,  two  feet  deep. 


NAVIGATING  THE  LAGOON.  875 

I  determined,  by  taking  a  land  circuit,  to  avoid,  if  possible,  the 
labor  and  time  which  must  be  given  to  cutting  through  it ;  for  I 
had  satisfied  myself  as  to  the  nature  of  the  difficulties  here  pre- 
sented. The  men  were  accordingly  sent  ahead  for  oxen  or  horses 
to  carry  us  ashore,  where  we  were  fixtures  for  the  night.  Our 
little  craft — three  feet  by  eighteen — was  rather  confined  quarters 
for  seven  men;  but  it  was  better  than  wading  through  tortora 
and  water  three  feet  deep.  We  had  a  cold,  disagreeable  time, 
and  at  dawn  gladly  hailed  the  reappearance  of  the  men.  One 
party  attached  a  strong  rope  to  the  boat  in  front,  another  was 
placed  behind,  and,  with  a  continuous  song  and  shout,  bearing 
down  grass  and  tortora,  they  pulled  and  pushed  us  through  near- 
ly three  miles  of  the  lagoon  to  the  Estancia  del  Estado.  We  had 
touched  dry  land  upon  the  property  of  the  State  of  Santiago — at 
one  time  that  of  the  crown  of  Spain— where  now  a  small  herd  of 
cattle  alone  represented  the  hundreds  of  thousands  that  once 
ranged  over  its  rich  pastures. 

September  22c?.  We  needed  an  observation  for  time,  and  were  glad 
to  reach  this  estancia  early  enough  for  a  meridian  altitude,  which 
gave  our  position,  latitude  28°  19'  b^"  south,  longitude  63°  28'  58" 
west.  Again  the  exploring  craft  was  sent  by  ox-cart  two  miles 
across  the  country,  to  the  Estancia  Gramilla.  In  following  it  on 
horseback  we  passed  through  a  dense  growth  of  jumi ;  the  ground 
was  white  with  an  incrustation  of  saltpetre, 
•  At  Gramilla  the  boat  was  launched,  not,  as  I  had  hojDed,  upon 
the  clear  waters  of  a  well-defined  river,  but  again  upon  those  of 
the  lagoon,  which  extended  east  like  a  sea.  The  channel  of  the 
Salado  was,  however,  distinguishable,  and  had  a  depth  of  four 
feet.  There  was  assuredly  here  a  subsidence  of  the  land ;  for  the 
channel  and  course  of  the  river  had  not  changed  within  the  mem- 
ory of  man,  and  yet  we  passed  a  house  with  several  feet  of  water 
around  it,  which  not  many  years  since  stood  on  comparatively 
high  ground,  and  was  known  in  the  country  as  Casa  Alta ;  and 
some  distance  beyond  we  glided  in  four  feet  water  over  what 
was  once  the  site  of  a  flourishing  town,  Guanagasta.  The  only 
remains  of  it  were  posts  of  the  indestructible  woods  of  the  coun- 
try, standing  like  skeletons  above  water  and  grass.  Thirty  years 
ago  this  was  a  place  much  resorted  to  by  agents  of  the  merchants 
of  Buenos  Ayres  and  Santa  Fe,  and  by  the  Indians  of  the  Chaco, 
who  exchanged  their  peltries  and  honey  for  tobacco,  knives,  and 
hatchets.     The  skin  of  the  nutria  was. brought  here  in  vast  num- 


376  APPROACH  OF  TROOPS. 

bers;  but  during  the  excessive  and  long-continued  drought  of 
1827,  '28,  and  '29,*  this  useful  little  animal  perished  or  migrated. 

At  sunset  we  reached  Sause  Esquina,  once  an  extensive  and 
well-stocked  estancia,  now  a  grassy  wilderness,  without  a  marl<,to 
indicate  its  former  occupation.  The  musquitoes  not  only  kept  us 
from  sleeping,  but  swarmed  in  such  numbers  that  it  was  with  dif- 
ficulty we  got  an  observation.  Our  position,  distant  eight  miles 
from  Guanagasta,  and  one  and  a  half  west  of  the  river,  was  in 
latitude  28°  26'  21"  south,  longitude  63°  18'  01"  west.  The  la- 
goon was  still  so  filled  with  grass  and  tortora  that  we  remained 
at  this  place  during  the  23d  to  enable  the  men  to  get  somewhat 
ahead  in  cutting  a  passage  through  it  for  the  boat. 

September  24^th.  At  3  P.M.  we  again  overtook  our  men,  who  were 
cutting  a  passage.  This  was  very  hard  work,  and  now  unneces- 
sary, for  I  understood  perfectly  the  character  of  the  lagoon.  Al- 
though we  had  not  yet  reached  its  eastern  extremity,  we  had 
tracked  through  it  twenty  miles  of  the  Salado  in  a  southeast  di- 
rection. The  only  difficulties  in  its  navigation  arise  from  grass 
and  tortora,  which  could  be  removed  in  a  short  time  by  the  labor- 
ers of  the  country,  who  work  for  twelve  and  a  half  cents  per  day 
and  a  ration.  At  a  rise  of  six  feet  above  the  present  level  of  the 
river,  the  tortora  would  offer  no  impediment  to  the  passage  of  a 
steamer  of  proper  construction,  for  she  could  skim  over  or  cut 
through  it  without  difiiculty.  I  directed  the  men  to  make  for  the 
nearest  point,  where  we  landed  and  proceeded  a  mile  or  two  east 
to  "  Old  Bracho,"  the  position  of  an  abandoned  military  post,  38 
miles  from  Matara  in  a  right  line  and  one  third  more  by  the 
course  of  the  river — this  difference  being  embraced  between  Ma- 
tara and  Estancia  del  Estado.  We  were  now  fairly  beyond  the 
limits  of  civilization,  and  slept  with  fire-arms  by  us. 

September  25th.  "We  had  scarcely  settled  ourselves  for  a  night's 
sleep  when  we  were  aroused  by  the  sound  of  an  approaching  body 
of  horsemen.  It  proved  to  be  the  governor  with  a  detachment 
of  forty  cavalry,  and  as  many  mounted  infantry,  in  actual  pursuit 
of  a  large  body  of  Indians,  who  had,  the  very  day  after  we  left 
Matara,  made  a  descent  upon  the  estaucias  of  the  neighborhood, 
killed  several  persons,  and  driven  off  herds  and  flocks.  They 
had  crossed  the  Salado  at  Bajada  Sause,  where  we  met  the  two 
women,  who  again  escaped,  and  had  probably  watched  the  move- 

*  This  period  is'  always  referred  to  in  the  country  as  the  Gran  Seco — Great 
Drought. 


PURSUIT  OF  INDIANS.  377 

ments  of  our  party.  All  was  excitement  and  liurry ;  the  govern- 
or would  not  dismount,  for  he  hoped  to  intercept  or  overtake  the 
marauders  by  passing  over  to  the  Chaco  through  the  lagoon,  as 
they  would  be  obhged  to  follow  the  bordering  plain  opposite  after 
recrossing  the  river. 

I  requested  and  obtained  permission  to  join  in  the  chase,  as  we 
should  be  compelled  to  await  the  return  of  the  general,  who  de- 
termined to  accompany  his  brother.  The  military  passed  on,  and 
we  followed  as  soon  as  horses  could  be  found.  At  9  P.M.  we 
were  mounted,  and,  guided  by  two  soldiers,  commenced  fording 
the  lagoon  through  which  we  had  been  toiling  for  some  days  in 
the  boat.  Our  horses  floundered  through  mud  and  water,  at  times 
up  to  the  saddle-skirts.  Now  the  guide  almost  disappeared ;  then 
my  own  horse  plunged  to  such  a  depth  that,  ungaucho-like,  I 
would  dismount  or  step  aside  in  water  over  my  long  boots,  leav- 
ing the  poor  animal  to  extricate  himself.*  For  a  few  yards  we 
had  a  firm  bottom,  and  this,  in  the  darkness,  I  presumed  to  be  the 
channel  of  the  Salado. 

At  11  P.M.  we  touched  the  firm  land  of  the  Chaco,  and  found 
the  governor  only  awaiting  our  appearance  to  begin  the  march. 
Anxious  to  see  all  the  manoeuvres  in  this  pursuit  of  the  savages, 
I  took  position  near  General  Taboado,  who,  at  the  head  of  the 
cavalry,  moved  a  little  in  advance  of  the  infantry,  which  was  led 
by  the  governor.  In  darkness  and  profound  silence,  unbroken 
except  by  some  order  given  in  an  undej:  tone,  we  passed  over  the 
plain  at  a.walk.  We  were  on  the  trail,  for  the  scouts  reported, 
first,  a  bullock  that  had  strayed  from  the  stolen  herd,  then  re- 
mains of  a  mule,  and  soon  after  the  tracks  of  many  animals,  say- 
ing confidently  at  what  hour  they  had  passed  a  stated  point  on 
the  preceding  day.f 

At  5  A.M.  on  the  26th  the  order  was  given  to  proceed  at  a  fast 
trot.  We  passed  a  smouldering  fire,  with  the  remains  of  a  roast- 
ed bullock,  and  a  moment  later  a  cloud  of  dust  was  observed  in 
the  east  about  a  mile  ahead.     This  was  caused  by  the  Indians  fly- 

*  When  the  horse  of  a  gaucho  sinks  in  the  mud  of  a  pantano  he  never  dismounts, 
nor  urges  him  on  with  either  whip  or  spur,  but  draws  up  his  legs,  and  keeps  his 
seat  until  the  animal,  by  his  own  struggles,  is  released. 

t  The  natives  of  the  country  have  such  an  acute  perception  in  distinguishing  the 
tracks  of  animals  that,  without  hesitation  and  with  precision,  they  will  state  the 
time  at  which  they  were  made,  and  will  discriminate  between  those  of  the  herds 
of  diiferent  estancias,  and  the  proportion  of  bulls,  bullock's,  or  cows,  liorscs  or 
mules. 


378  THE  FIGHT. 

ing  over  tlie  plain  at  Ml  speed,  witli  a  drove  of  horses  in  advance. 
The  general  followed  at  a  rapid  gallop,  passing  abandoned  horses 
and  many  cattle  that  had  strayed  out  from  the  woods,  whither 
they  had  been  hurriedly  driven.  Twice  during  this  run  of  three 
hours  the  Indians  lassoed  and  mounted  fresh  horses  from  the 
herd.  It  seemed  to  be  the  work  of  a  minute,  but  each  time  we 
gained  a  little  upon  them ;  and  after  the  second  change,  when 
within  less  than  a  quarter  of  a  mile,  a  party  of  the  savages  turned, 
rose  to  their  full  height  upon  the  bare  backs  of  their  animals,  as 
if  to  count  the  force  in  pursuit,  and  then,  with  defiant  whoop  and 
gestures,  challenged  them  to  come  on.  Up  to  this  moment  we 
had  kept  pace  with  the  general ;  but  not  considering  it  my  duty 
to  be  speared,  I  now  took  a  position  aside  to  watch  the  fight. 
There  was  no  hesitation  on  the  part  of  the  handful  of  soldiers  in 
advance  of  the  main  body.  They  charged  at  a  gallop.  The  In- 
dians shook  their  long  lances,*  dashed  into  their  midst,  spearing 
right  and  left,  and  wheeling  suddenly,  followed  at  full  speed  the 
rest  of  their  party,  now  almost  out  of  sight.  The  cacique  was 
wounded,  and  lost  his  horse ;  but  seizing  that  of  a  wounded  sol- 
dier, he  fled  into  the  forest,  followed  by  some  of  his  men. 

Orders  having  been  given  to  make  provision  for  the  safety  and 
comfort  of  the  soldiers  who  had  sufifered  in  the  skirmish,  the  gen- 
eral continued  the  pursuit  at  half  speed.  We  passed  ricados, 
horses  lanced  and  abandoned,  f  cattle,  the  skins  of  animals  and 
other  trappings ;  but  as  ^e  were  a  second  time  gaining  on  the 
Indians,  they  suddenly  wheeled,  and  dashed  into  the  fcffest,  which 
they  had  closely  skirted  during  the  chase,  abandoning  their  hors- 
es, and  disappearing  as  completely  as  if  the  earth  had  opened  to 
receive  them.  This  great  body  of  wood,  extending  a  three  days' 
journey,  was  indeed  an  impregnable  fortress,  for  its  walls  of  vege- 
tation rendered  farther  pursuit  impossible.  The  result  of  this 
skirmish  and  chase  was  the  recapture  of  two  hundred  horses  and 
two  hundred  and  fifty  horned  cattle. 

As  may  be  supposed,  our  horses,  after  floundering  through  a 
morass,  traveling  all  night,  and  without  a  moment's  rest  making 
a  run  of  36  miles  at  an  unbroken  gallop,  were  fatigued.  But  five 
minutes  were  allowed  for  a  halt ;  and  again  at  9  A.M.,  under  a 
sun  of  tropical  intensity,  we  were  retracing  our  steps  over  the 

*  The  Chaco  Indian  never  throws  the  lance. 

t  A  few  Indians  have  ricados,  generally  the  sjioils  of  their  forays.  When  they 
abandon  a  horse  broken  down,  under  such  circumstances,  he  is  invariably  lanced. 


A  SLEEP  IN  THE  RAIN.  381 

plain.  Now  tliat  tlie  excitement  of  the  pursuit  was  over,  we 
were  tormented  by  thirst.  No  water  was  to  be  had  on  the  march 
of  that  long,  hot  spring  day ;  and  our  bivouac  for  the  night  was 
near  a  slightly  saline  marsh,  in  which  the  deep  tracks  of  stray 
cattle  alone  afforded  a  little  brackish  water.  The  sufferings  of  the 
horses  may  be  imagined,  for  they  had  been  under  the  saddle 
twenty  hours,  and  in  that  time,  with  only  a  rest  of  five  minutes, 
had  made  one  hundred  and  twenty  miles.  Tethered  by  a  lasso, 
the  pasturage  of  a  circle  of  about  one  hundred  feet  across  was 
now  their  only  food.  As  for  ourselves  there  was  neither  water, 
mate,  nor  food ;  but  spite  of  hunger  and  thirst  we  spread  our  pon- 
chos on  the  grass,  and  slept  soundly.  At  daylight  we  were  again 
moving  along  the  plain  at  a  walk,  for  there  were  no  fresh  horses, 
and  of  those  recaptured  from  the  Indians,  some  were  unbroken, 
while  others  were  in  a  worse  condition  than  our  own. 

This  day's  travel  brought  us  to  the  Salado,  where  we  had  pure 
fresh  water  and  a  supper  of  asado,  the  first  food  we  had  tasted  for 
forty  hours.  This  was  scarcely  ended  when  the  rain  poured  in 
such  torrents  as  to  drive  us  to  the  shelter  of  a  deserted  ranch, 
where  we  remained  for  some  hours  like  packed  herrings.  This 
close  stowage  was  far  less  comfortable  than  the  wet  grass ;  and  at 
midnight,  finding  the  rain  was  over,  I  sjDread  my  India-rubber 
blanket  on  the  pampa,  and  soon  fell  into  a  sound  sleep.  In  the 
morning  I  awoke  refreshed,  as  if  my  night  had  been  passed  in  the 
most  luxurious  apartment.  So  much  for  habit  and  the  health  of 
this  climate ! 

I  was  much  impressed  by  the  hardy,  patient,  endurance  of  the 
Santiago  soldiers.  Their  only  compensation  is  a  suit  of  clothes, 
a  ration  of  beef,  and  a  little  tobacco ;  and  yet  the  general  told 
me  that  they  served  most  cheerfully,  rarely  deserted,  and  would 
make  a  march  of  two  or  three  successive  days  without  food  or 
water ;  and  with  a  sack  of  pounded  parched  corn,  which  each 
man  carries  behind  him,  would  uncomplainingly  pass  through  a 
campaign  of  two  weeks.  But  when  meat  is  placed  before  them, 
they  consume  the  most'  enormous  quantities.  A  beeve  is  the 
usual  daily  ration  for  twenty -five  men. 

In  this  Indian  chase  we  passed  through  one  hundred  and  thir- 
ty-five miles  of  the  Chaco  over  a  plain  or  strip  of  rich  pasture-land 
five  miles  in  breadth,  which  is  bounded  on  one  side  by  an  un- 
broken forest  extending  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles  north 
and  south,  and  on  the  other  by  the  Salado.    In  returning  from  their 


882  INDIAN  DEPREDATIONS. 

incursions  into  Cordova  and  Santiago,  tlie  Indians  drive  before 
them  large  herds  and  flocks,  the  plunder  of  different  estancias. 
Pasturage  and  water  are  therefore  all-essential;  and,  to  secure 
these  thej  invariably  pass  along  this  plain,  coasting  the  Salado 
as  far  as  the  lake  Tostado,  where  they  double  the  southeastern 
termination  of  the  forest,  and  taking  their  last  draught  of  sweet 
water,  push  across  north  to  the  Vermejo. 

The  opposite  or  Santiago  side  of  the  Salado  was,  before  the 
Eevolution,  one  of  the  most  populous  in  La  Plata.  For  hundreds 
of  miles  pastoral  establishments  bordered  the  river,  several  of 
them  being  the  property  of  the  crown,  and,  within  the  recollection 
of  many,  the  estancieros  resided  upon  these  estates.  The  Indians, 
always  defiant  and  hostile,  were  yet  held  somewhat  in  check  by 
the  power  of  Spain.  But  after  the  Eevolution,  encouraged  by  a 
knowledge  of  the  civil  factions  that  disturbed  the  country,  and 
not  unfrequently  guided  by  army-deserters  or  refugees  from  jus- 
tice, not  only  the  tribes  bordering  on  the  Salado,  but  migratory 
hordes  from  the  north,  poured  down  upon  these  frontier  estan- 
cias, killed  the  men,  carried  their  wives  and  children  into  hope- 
less slavery,  and,  driving  before  them  herds  of  cattle,  regained, 
without  molestation,  the  interior  of  the  Chaco.  These  Indians 
have  never  learned  the  use  of  fire-arms,  and,  by  examining  the 
map,  it  may  be  seen  how  easily  a  chain  of  small  military  posts 
could  have  protected  the  whole  Salado  country. 

Fort  Bracho,  the  eastern  frontier  post  of  Santiago,  about  one 
and  a  half  miles  west  of  the  old  position,  and  in  latitude  28°  21' 
15"  south,  longitude  63°  12'  west,  is  simply  a  collection  of  well- 
constructed  mud  houses,  surrounded  by  a  palisade  of  stout  que- 
bracho trunks  fifteen  feet  high.  It  is  commanded  by  a  major, 
but  its  use  as  a  military  post  may  be  doubted  in  witnessing  the 
impunity  with  which  the  savages  continue  their  forays.  The 
revenues  of  the  state  estancias,  formerly  the  crown  property,  on 
this  river,  would  at  one  time  have  been  fully  adequate  for  the  de- 
fense of  the  frontier,  had  they  been  properly  applied  by  the  last 
governor  under  Rosas, 

The  boat  was  again  transported  to  ISTarvicha,*  six  leagues  south- 
east from  Fort  Bracho  and  the  eastern  extremity  of  the  lagoon. 
From  thence  I  proposed  to  continue  my  exploration,  accompanied 
by  the  governor  and  a  detachment  of  fifty  mounted  infantry. 

*  All  proper  names  here  introduced  indicate  points  in  the  wilderness  once  known 
as  estancias. 


THE  SALADO.  383 

"We  reached  it  at  sunset  on  the  1st  of  October.  Instead  of  an 
asado  of  beef  we  had  for  supper  delicious  wild  fowl,  which  abound 
in  the  islets  of  the  lagoon. 

October  2c?.  We  again  launched  our  craft  on  the  Bocaron  de 
Narvicha,  a  stream  which  branches  oif  from  the  Salado,  in  the  la- 
goon, and  rejoins  the  main  channel  at  Sandia  Paso,  in  latitude 
28°  43'  08",  longitude  62°  58',  nine  miles  by  land  and  double  that 
distance  by  water.  It  had  five  feet  water,  but  was  much  obstruct- 
ed by  fallen  trees.  The  banks  on  both  sides  were  fringed  with 
algorrobas,  vinal,  and  chanar.*  Unmistakable  marks  on  banks 
and  trees  indicated  a  rise  at  high  water  of  six  feet  above  the  pres- 
ent level.  We  soon  overtook  the  men  dispatched  ahead  to  make 
an  opening  for  us,  but  from  that  time  till  sunset  advanced  slowly. 
We  enjoyed  amazingly  our  asado  and  the  warmth  of  the  bivouac 
fires  around  which  we  settled  for  the  night ;  but  the  rain  soon 
after  poured  in  torrents,  and  obliged  us  to  seek  shelter  under  the 
dense  fohage  of  the  trees,  which  were  a  poor  protection  against 
such  an  outpouring  of  the  clouds,  continuuig  throughout  the 
night. 

October  Sd.  Under  way  at  an  early  hour,  we  soon  reached  Paso 
Sandia,  the  encampment  of  the  general,  who  honored  our  arrival 
with  a  "  came  con  ci^ero."f  A  little  beyond  this  the  Salado  flowed 
on,  a  weU-defined  and  unobstructed  stream,  about  sixty  feet  wide 
and  from  four  to  six  in  depth ;  current  half  a  mile ;  banks  low, 
abrupt,  and  indicating  a  rise  of  five  feet  above  the  present  level 
at  the  season  of  high  water.  At  Paso  Sandia  I  found  in  the  sur- 
face-soil vast  quantities  of  the  minute  fresh- water  shells  seen  fif- 
teen and  twenty  feet  below  it  at  Matara.  I  had  now  passed  over 
the  most  difficult  part  of  the  Salado  in  a  boat,  and  had  seen  enough 
to  convince  me  of  the  practicability  of  its  navigation.  But  this 
cutting  a  passage  through  overhanging  and  fallen  trees  promised 
to  be  a  work  of  more  time  than  I  could  well  spare ;  so,  relying 
upon  the  assurance  of  the  governor's  guide,  that  our  course  lay 
directly  along  it,  and  that  I  could  touch  it  at  any  point,  I  determ- 
ined to  join  his  Excellency's  party,  and  proceed  by  land.  We 
moved  along  on  the  right  bank,  and  occasionally  tried  the  depth 
of  the  stream  by  fording  or  bathing. 

October  Ath.  The  Salado  was  now  a  beautiful  and  well-defined 
stream,  following  a  general  direction  of  southeast,  through  a  gi-assy 

*  An  infusion  of  the  leaves  of  the  chanar  is  considered  in  that  country  an  infal- 
lible cure  for  dropsy.  f  Beef  roasted  in  the  skin. 


384  THE  PAMPA. 

pampa,  belted  for  miles  by  noble  mimosge ;  again  its  banks  were 
not  wooded,  but  fringed  with  luxuriant  alfalfa,  the  bright  yellow 
blossoms  contrasting  gayly  with  the  deep  rich  green  of  the  grass. 
At  sunset  we  had  made  twenty-five  miles  in  a  right  line,  which 
might  be  estimated  at  double  that  distance  by  the  course  of  the 
river.  As  we  advanced,  the  adjacent  lands  were  undulating, 
presenting  considerable  grassy  elevations  for  a  pampa  country. 
Winding  through  it  was  a  broad,  verdant,  and  meadow-like  belt, 
which  looked  as  if  it  might  once  have  been  the  bed  of  a  river. 

October  6th.  We  passed  over  a  fine  undulating  pampa,  carpeted 
as  far  as  the  eye  could  reach  with  the  most  luxuriant  alfalfa,  the 
Salado  winding  through  it,  a  bright  placid  stream  skirted  by  trees. 
The  algorroba,  in  some  parts  of  La  Plata  a  small  bushy  tree, 
was  here  superb  in  size  and  foliage,  and  as  clear  of  undergrowth 
and  dead  limbs  as  if  carefully  trimmed.  I  enjoyed  the  sunset 
glories  of  that  spring  day,  and  an  hour's  rest  upon  a  grassy  eleva- 
tion, from  which  I  viewed  the  picturesque  groups  of  dark-visaged 
gauchos.  Some  were  bringing  water  from  the  river,  others  seek- 
ing fuel,  and  many  gathered  around  the  bivouac  fires  watching 
the  asado.  The  atmosphere  was  resplendently  clear,  and  the  air 
soft,  balmy,  and  redolent  of  the  fragrance  of  alfalfa,  through  which 
the  horses  and  cattle  waded  to  their  bellies.  I  thought  I  had  nev- 
er seen  a  fairer  pastoral  region.  It  was  once  inclosed  as  the  Es- 
tancia  Dona  Lorenza,  one  among  the  most  celebrated  in  La  Plata. 
Posts  dotted  the  plain,  and  traces  of  canals,  by  which  the  water 
of  the  Salado  was  conducted  through  the  lands  for  irrigation,  were 
the  only  vestiges  of  former  occupation.  Except  some  miserable 
captive,  not  a  white  man  had  passed  here  within  the  last  quarter 
of  a  century. 

October  6th.  From  the  Estancia  Dona  Lorenza,  which  is  in  lati- 
tude 29°  05'  13"  south,  longitude  62°  48'  west,  we  traveled  twen- 
ty-three miles,  making  eighty-three  from  Fort  Bracho.  I  found 
the  characteristics  of  river  and  bordering  land  varying  but  little 
from  those  noted  the  5th.  In  the  course  of  the  day  it  was  repeat- 
edly crossed  by  fording,  touched  at  every  bend,  and  bathed  in  at 
the  close  of  the  day's  work.  It  has  a  width  of  about  eighty  feet, 
and  a  depth  of  from  four  to  six.  The  banks  showed  no  washing ; 
I  therefore  concluded  that,  even  at  the  season  of  high  water,  there 
is  very  little  current,  and  now  it  was  scarcely  perceptible.  But 
this  may  be  ascribed  somewhat  to  the  early  rains  eastward  and  to 
the  "repunte"  of  the  Parana,  which  had  backed  the  waters  up  so 


ABANDONED  ESTANCIAS.  385 

far  as  to  neutralize  the  current  and  increase  the  depth  of  the  Sa- 
lado  to  nearly  its  maximum. 

October  1th.  Our  bivouac  fires  for  the  night  were  close  to  the 
river,  and  near  a  skirting  of  fine  quebrachos,  one  mile  below 
Paso  de  Coria,  in  latitude  29°  13'  42"  south,  longitude  62°  34'  30" 
west.  I  observed  during  the  day  no  obstructions  to  navigation. 
There  was  scarcely  any  current ;  the  waters  were  clear ;  and  as 
the  river  coursed  through  its  green  banks,  so  uniform  was  its 
width  that  it  looked  like  a  grand  canal.  Could  we  have  remain- 
ed one  month  longer  at  Monte  Aguara,  I  beheve  we  might  have 
ascended  to  Sandia  Paso  in  the  Yerba.  The  plain  abounds  in  a 
plant,  the  "caqueja;"*  and  in  other  parts  of  the  province  there 
grows  a  small  tree,  the  "melancillo,"  which  is  highly  valued  for 
the  medicinal  properties  of  its  root  in  cases  of  diarrhoea. 

October  8th.  Bivouacked  at  Monte  Tigre,  latitude  29°  22'  32" 
south,  longitude  62°  22'  west,  near  a  grove  of  nandubay,  the  first 
I  had  seen  upon  this  river ;  it  is  of  the  mimosa  family,  and  not 
unlike  the  algorroba  in  foliage,  but  the  trunk  is  larger  and  straight- 
er,  and  the  bark  is  very  rough. 

We  passed  at  every  mile  or  two  marks  of  abandoned  estancias. 
At  Viuda,  formerly  a  rich  cattle  farm,  we  met  a  detachment  of 
twenty  soldiers  from  a  military  post  of  the  Dulce.  The  governor 
had  ordered  them  to  join  him  here,  for  he  was  now  in  pursuit  of 
the  Indians  who  had  made  the  last  foray  into  Santiago.  Among 
the  soldiers  was  one  who  acted  as  guide  or  vaqueano.  He  knew 
every  bend  and  ford  of  the  Salado,  having  recently  escaped  from 
the  Chaco  after  a  captivity  of  many  years  among  the  Indians,  who 
carried  him  off  when  he  was  quite  a  child. 

In  the  evening  the  wind  was  from  the  south,  very  fresh,  and 
the  rain  continuous,  pouring  in  such  torrents  that  ponchos,  horse- 
blankets,  etc.,  formed  into  a  tent,  under  which  the  general,  Mr. 
Murdaugh,  and  Cornelius  crept  with  us,  made  but  a  poor  pro- 
tection. Musquitoes,  close  stowage,  and  a  leaky  roof  were  no 
provocatives  to  sleep ;  but  in  such  sheets  did  the  water  continue 
to  fall,  that  we  kept  in  our  quarters  until  10  o'clock  A.M.  of  the 
next  morning. 

On  the  9th  we  made  but  fifteen  miles,  passing  numbers  of  aban- 
doned estancias.  The  whole  country  was  entirely  destitute  of 
wood ;  not  a  bush  was  to  be  seen,  but  the  alfalfa  was  rich  and 

*  A  tea  made  of  its  leaves  is,  the  governor  tells  me,  an  infallible  remedy  for  ve- 
nereal diseases. 

25 


386  THEOUGH  THE  MUD. 

fresli;  as  in  a  sea  we  waded  through  it.  This  was  the  beginning 
of  the  rainy  season,  which  had  set  in  much  earlier  than  usuaL 
As  we  advanced  southeast  the  river  was  full  and  the  lands  im- 
mediately adjacent  almost  impassable.  The  beginning  of  the 
night  was  clear.  We  had  no  supper,  not  even  a  mate ;  for  there 
could  not  be  found  fuel  enough  to  boil  a  little  water.  Not  so, 
however,  with  our  horses ;  it  was  pleasant  to  see  them  luxuriat- 
ing in  the  alfalfa.  Myriads  of  musquitoes  and  rain — such  floods 
as  pour  down  in  these  countries  during  the  season — drive  away 
sleep ;  but  on  a  clear  night  these  pampa  apartments,  with  their 
starry  frescoes,  are  not  bad.  A  man  could  scarcely  desire  a  soft- 
er bed  than  the  fragrant  clover.  Our  rest  was  short.  At  1  A.M. 
on  the  10th  we  were  in  the  saddle.  Again  the  rain  poured  in 
torrents,  and,  although  it  was  the  second  spring  month,  I  shiver- 
ed ;  for  my  India-rubber  poncho  was  a  good  protection  from  rain, 
but  a  very  poor  one  from  cold. 

The  object  of  this  early  move  was  to  surprise  a  toldo  near  La- 
guna  Abipones.  We  had  gone  but  a  short  distance  when  we 
reached  the  borders  of  a  pantano.  As  it  was  very  dark  and  rain- 
ing hard,  the  guides  thought  it  prudent  to  wait  for  daylight  be- 
fore attempting  to  cross ;  so  we  remained,  even  in  the  darkness  a 
black  shadow  on  the  borders  of  the  morass.  With  the  first  streak 
of  day  we  were  floundering  through  mud  and  water,  one  taking 
his  own  way,  another  closely  following  the  guide.  On  we  went, 
plunging,  whooping,  yelling,  laughing  at  our  own  or  others'  mis- 
fortunes ;  for  some  were  fixtures,  imbedded  like  fossils,  or  so 
firmly  planted  that  they  looked  as  if  destined  to  remain,  like  the 
estancia  posts,  monuments  of  the  life  that  had  passed  away  ;  oth- 
ers turned  somersets  over  their  horses'  heads,  regaining  their  feet 
only  to  sink  knee-deep  in  the  soft  mud.  After  toiling  for  two 
hours  through  the  swamp,  we  touched  terra  firma,  and  reached 
our  halting- place,  Islita  Chanar,*  at  7  A.M.  on  the  11th,  having 
been  in  the  saddle  six  hours.  Here  it  was  deemed  expedient  to 
refresh  both  horses  and  men,  preparatory  to  another  Indian  chase. 
Fearing  that  the  savages  would  discover  our  approach  the  cook- 
ing fires  were  kindled  behind  a  grove  of  chanar  and  kept  very 
low. 

After  a  rest  of  a  few  hours  we  were  again  in  the  saddle,  and 
following  as  closely  as  we  could  the  windings  of  the  river.  Islas 
of  wood,  generally  chanar,  alone  broke  the  monotony  of  the  pam- 
*  Groves  of  wood  which,  on  the  naked  pampa,  have  the  appearance  of  islands. 


FIGHT  AT  THE  PASO  MISTOL.  387 

pa ;  the  alfalfa  was  every  where  exuberant  in  its  growth.  Al- 
though the  governor  antieipated  a  fight  with  the  Indians,  before 
leaving  Islita  de  Chanar  he  nailed  his  card  against  a  tree,  invit- 
ing a  jMrlamento  (talk) — a  mode  of  invitation  well  understood  b}^ 
the  savages. 

After  advancing  six  miles  the  scouts  returned  and  reported 
stray  cattle  and  horses.  We  were  undoubtedly  on  the  trail. 
"  They  passed  day  before  yesterday  toward  the  Paso  de  Tostado," 
said  the  vaqueanos.  The  men  judged  from  tracks  of  the  animals, 
and  spoke  without  hesitation.  The  general  based  his  movements 
as  confidently  on  their  report  as  if  they  had  come  from  the  midst 
of  the  savages. 

We  had  made  about  eight  miles  when,  passing  a  fire,  it  was 
presumed  that  the  Indians  were  in  our  neighborhood;  and  the 
soldiers  were  ordered  to  advance  at  a  full  gallop  to  Palo  Negro, 
a  belting  of  that  wood.  Here  we  came  in  sight  of  a  number  of 
horses  and  cattle  on  the  Chaco  side  of  the  Salado.  The  men  dash- 
ed down  to  the  river,  stripped  off  their  clothing,  again  mounted, 
lance  in  hand,  swam  across,  encircled  the  animals,  and,  driving 
them  ahead,  regained  the  opposite  bank  at  the  moment  that  a 
party  of  about  forty  Indians,  with  a  war-whoop,  issued  from  be- 
hind a  grove  of  chaiiar,  and  made  for  the  Paso  Mistol.  The  grove 
of  chaiiar  in  which  their  toldo  was  pitched  had  concealed  from 
them  our  approach.  Extending  for  some  distance  on  the  Chaco 
bank  was  a  thin  growth  of  bushes,  and  beyond,  parallel  with  it, 
a  slight  elevation.  Op.  nearing  the  Paso  the  Indians  threw  them- 
selves down  behind  the  bushes,  which,  with  the  long  grass,  pro- 
tected them  from  the  unskillful  firing  of  the  soldiers,  although  the 
distance  was  not  more  than  thirty  yards.  Volley  after  volley  was 
fired  into  their  midst,  and  after  each,  one,  two,  or  three  of  them 
would  rise,  and  with  lightning  speed  escape  amid  a  shower  of 
buUets,  seemingly  unharmed.  After  blazing  away  for  some  time 
the  general  directed  the  interpreter  to  ask  them  if  they  would 
surrender.  "Never!  San  Antonio  for  ever!"  was  the  cacique's 
reply.  The  firing  was  kept  up,  and  the  Indians,  apparently  un- 
touched, continued  to  disappear  over  the  hill.  I  began  to  think 
that  the  whole  party  had  escaped,  when  one  rose  up,  whose  appear- 
ance was  hailed  by  a  shout  and  a  volley;  he  fell  flat  upon  his 
face,  as  if  struck,  but  in  another  instant  was  upon  his  feet.  There 
was  a  second  round,  and  again  he  fell,  only  to  rise  again  untouch- 
ed.    Up  to  this  moment  I  remained  quietly  on  my  horse,  rather 


388  THE  WOULD-BE  CAPTIVE. 

an  amused  spectator  of  the  firing,  for  the  gaucho  soldier  is  more 
skillful  with  the  lasso  than  with  the  gun,  and  the  Indians  believe 
that  their  musket-balls  may  be  dodged.  The  general  now  turned 
to  me,  and  said  hurriedly, 

"  Commandante !  that  is  a  Cordovase,  and  a  noted  reprobate, 
a  villain,  a  traitor !" 

I  raised  my  carbine,  and,  as  the  man  gained  the  top  of  the 
grassy  hillock  behind  which  he  would  have  escaped  in  another 
minute,  fired,  not  to  kill,  but  to  stop  his  headway.  In  an  instant 
he  fell  upon  his  knees,  and  the  same  moment,  throwing  up  his 
arms,  implored  mercy,  exclaiming  "50^  cautivd'''  ("I  am  a  cap- 
tive")— meaning  that  he  had  been  carried  off  by  the  Indians. 

The  soldiers  were  now  ordered  to  the  Chaco,  and  the  next  min- 
ute the  river  was  covered  with  half-naked  gauchos  swimming 
over.  After  all  this  expenditure  of  ammunition,  but  two  dead  In- 
dians were  found,  and  the  white  man,  who  was  wounded  in  the 
fleshy  part  of  the  thigh,  and  who  at  the  approach  of  the  soldiers 
exclaimed,  "  Spare  me !  I  am  a  captive."  This  announcement 
was  received  by  the  men  with  a  loud  and  derisive  laugh.  He 
was  known  as  a  native  of  Cordova ;  and  when  dyed  with  crime 
had  escaped  justice  by  joining  the  Indians,  for  whom  he  had  acted 
as  guide  in  several  recent  forays.  Parties  sent  out  to  scour  the 
country  on  the  Chaco  side  found  the  toldo,  which,  from  its  size, 
indicated  a  greater  number  of  Indians  than  we  had  supposed,  and 
the  articles  left  behind  showed  that  they  had  been  surprised. 
This  explained  the  game  of  the  savages  at  the  Paso  Mistol,  who 
engaged  the  attention  of  their  pursuers  to  insure  the  escape  of 
the  women  and  children. 

The  alfalfa  of  this  section  of  the  country  was  extraordinarily 
rich,  and  the  Indians  had  probably  anticipated  remaining  here  a 
long  time  with  their  herds,  little  dreaming  of  the  least  disturbance 
after  having  for  more  than  a  quarter  of  a  century  enjoyed  the  un- 
interrupted range  of  the  pampa  across  the  Salado.  A  number  of 
earthen  utensils  were  found,  and  some  few  articles  recognized  as 
the  spoils  of  their  recent  expedition ;  for  as  the  guides  asserted, 
they  were  the  marauders  who  watched  the  movements  of  our 
party  at  Bajada  Sause,  and  had  advanced  two  days  ahead  of  us. 
Among  other  articles  found  in  their  tents  were  a  manta  and  a 
head-dress  of  the  cacique.  The  latter  was  a  sort  of  helmet,  sur- 
rounded by  ostrich  feathers ;  the  manta  was  made  of  a  soft  flexi- 
ble hide,  and  covered  with  feathers. 


BUKIAL  OF  THE  DEAD.  39I 

The  day's  work  closed  with  the  capture  of  about  one  hundred 
horses  and  thirty  milch  cows,  attended,  however,  with  the  loss  of 
one  of  the  soldiers,  who  had  engaged  in  the  j)ursuit,  and  was 
mortally  wounded  in  single  combat  with  a  powerful  Indian.  I 
shall  never  forget  the  expression  of  that  poor  dying  man's  face, 
as  with  glazed  eye  and  drooping  head  he  was  brought  on  horse- 
back to  the  Paso,  seated  behind  a  comrade.  Young,  of  fine  mus- 
cular development,  and  full  of  fire,  he  had  been  among  the  first 
to  reach  the  Chaco.  In  less  than  an  hour  the  spirit  had  fled,  and 
the  soldier  was  buried  beneath  a  quebracho.  The  two  bodies 
of  the  Indians  were  put  into  a  hide  "balsa,"*  as  if  they  had  been 
slaughtered  bullocks,  and  then  thrown  out  on  the  opposite  pam- 
pa,  for  on  the  part  of  the  gaucho  there  is  toward  the  Indian  a 
deeply-seated  hatred.  The  wounded  Cordovase  was  carried  over 
with  very  little  more  ceremony.  The  creature  appealed  to  me  in 
the  most  beseeching  terms  to  extract  the  ball  from  his  thigh; 
finding  that  impossible,  he,  with  the  same  voice  and  manner,  im- 
plored me  to  give  him  a  cigar.  At  sight  of  the  bodies  of  the 
Indians  he  broke  out  into  wild  and  fearful  curses.  "  They  had 
brought  him,"  he  said,  "to  this  state,"  by  forcing  him  to  act  as 
their  guide.  He  was  an  admirable  actor,  but  did  not  at  all  im- 
pose upon  the  general,  who  knew  that  he  was  a  "  vaqueano  volun- 
tarioy  The  youthful  captives  of  the  savages  are  sometimes  forced 
into  their  service  as  guides,  but  our  prisoner,  being  well  known, 
was  delivered  up  for  punishment  to  the  Governor  of  Cordova. 

We  encamped  for  the  night  under  a  skirting  of  wood  near  Paso 
Mistol,  which  is  in  latitude  29°  16'  03"  south,  longitude  61°  15' 
west.  The  rain  fell  in  torrents,  but  I  slept  through  the  whole  of 
it  under  cover  of  my  India-rubber  poncho,  and  on  the  morning 
of  the  12th  was  astir  at  an  early  hour,  and  ready  for  another  day's 
ride. 

12th.  A  short  distance  below  the  Paso  the  Salado  makes  a  re- 
markable circuit :  from  east  it  winds  to  southwest,  north  to  north- 
east, making  .within  four  points  every  course  of  the  compass ;  its 
general  direction  is  southeast.  After  progressing  eight  miles,  we 
halted  for  breakfast  at  Monte  del  Muerte,  so  called  because  a  short 
time  before  our  visit  a  female  captive  had  been  put  to  death  for 
attempting  to  escape.  The  frame-work  of  an  abandoned  toldo 
here  was  tied  together  by  the  long  hair  of  a  white  woman.     At 

*  A  Salado  balsa  is  a  hide  caupjht  up  at  the  four  corners  by  a  rojie  of  the  same 
material,  or  a  polo,  and  guided  across  the  river  by  madadores  (swimmers). 


392  THE  LOWER  SALADO. 

sunset  we  halted  near  the  Monte  Cueva  de  Lobo.*  It  was  evident 
that  we  were  to  pass  another  rainy  night ;  but,  making  a  joint  pro- 
tection of  ponchos,  we  covered  a  snug  tent,  under  which  we  slept 
soundly. 

This  was  the  lowest  point  that  we  reached  on  the  Salado ;  a 
great  disappointment  to  me,  for  I  was  anxious  to  join  my  work 
with  that  completed  to  Monte  Aguara.  I  have  alluded  to  one  of 
our  guides  as  having  lived  for  many  years  among  the  Indians. 
The  governor  expressed  perfect  confidence  in  the  veracity  and 
intelligence  of  this  man,  who,  during  his  captivity,  had  passed  re- 
peatedly along  the  banks  of  the  Salado  from  Sandia  Paso  to  Monte 
Aguara,  and  had  crossed  and  recrossed  at  various  parts  of  it.  I 
accepted  his  declaration  that  the  characteristics  of  the  river  to  the 
latter  point  were  similar  to  those  noted  in  the  last  two  days ;  but 
to  assure  myself  doubly,  I  questioned  him  as  to  its  appearance  at 
and  a  little  below  Monte  Aguara.  His  answers  corresponded  per- 
fectly with  my  notes.  From  Sandia  Paso  to  Monte  Cueva  de 
Lobo,  134  miles,  I  had  kept  along  the  right  bank,  and  followed 
nearly  every  bend  of  the  river  south.  I  forded  it  repeatedly, 
halted  near  it  each  night,  and  in  returning  crossed  at  Paso  Mistol, 
and  followed  the  left  or  Chaco  bank  in  the  same  manner;  had 
there  been  any  obstacle  to  a  continuous  navigation,  it  could  not 
have  escaped  me.  The  formation  of  the  country  through  which 
it  courses  forbids  the  idea  of  reefs  or  falls.f 

But  I  have  not  explained  why  it  was  impossible  to  proceed. 
The  rains  had  not  only  set  in  very  early,  for  they  begin  generally 
in  November,  but,  eastward,  were  unusually  heavy.  The  govern- 
or, anxious  as  myself  to  unite  the  two  explorations,  sent  an  officer 
with  a  detachment  of  soldiers,  guided  by  the  man  before  mention- 
ed, to  note  the  condition  of  the  country.  After  an  absence  of 
twenty-four  hours  they  returned  and  reported  the  river  full  al- 
most to  the  level  of  its  banks,  and  the  adjacent  pantanos  impassa- 
ble. With  great  difficulty  they  had  extricated  two  of  their  horses. 
To  have  followed  a  circuitous  route  would  have  defeated  the  ob- 
jects in  view ;  added  to  this,  the  governor's  provisions  were  low, 
and  the  men  on  half  rations.  The  heavy  rains  east  had  complete- 
ly neutralized  the  current  of  the  Salado  at  this  section  of  it ;  but 

*  So  called  from  a  small  animal,  the  loho  (seal),  which  abounds  in  this  place. 

t  While  engaged  in  writing  these  lines  I  received  the  letter  that  is  given  in  an- 
other chapter  from  Governor  Taboado.  It  will  be  seen  that  the  Salado  is,  as  I 
declared,  navigable  thronghoxit  its  course. 


THE  RETUKN.  393 

I  was  not  quite  prepared  for  the  statement  of  a  scout,  wlio,  before 
we  set  out  on  this  exploration,  had  been  sent  to  watch  the  move- 
ments of  the  Indians,  and  who  stated  that  not  far  from  Sandia 
Paso  "  the  current  was  running  up."  I  presumed  that  the  man 
had  been  perplexed  by  the  sinuosities  of  the  river,  and  had  mis- 
taken doicn  for  up,  but  I  afterward  discovered  that  the  assertion 
had  some  truth  in  it.  The  rains  east  were  so  heavy  that  the  sup- 
ply of  water  from  that  direction  was  far  greater  than  from  its  up- 
per sources  in  the  western  Cordilleras  of  Salta,  and  for  a  time — so 
little  declivity  has  the  bed  of  the  Salado — that  the  movement 
seemed  to  be  not  from  the  west,  but  the  east.  The  estimated  di- 
rect coui'se  from  Bracho  to  Monte  Cueva  de  Lobo  was  168  miles, 
and  by  the  windings  of  the  stream  double  that  distance. 

By  observation  the  following  are  the  distances  in  a  right  line 
between  the  jDoints  made  by  uS :  From  Estancia  Taboado  to  Ma- 
tara,  51  miles ;  from  Matara  to  Bracho,  88 ;  Bracho  to  Narvicha, 
17 ;  Narvicha  to  Mistol,  69  ;  Mistol  to  Monte  Aguara,  81 ;  Monte 
Aguara  to  Santa  Fe,  88. 

The  relative  distances  in  a  right  line  and  by  the  course  of  the 
river  may  be  thus  estimated :  From  Estancia  Taboado  to  Matara, 
in  a  right  line,  51  miles ;  by  the  river,  110.  This  may  be  as- 
sumed as  a  very  good  standard  by  which  to  judge  of  the  others, 
with  the  exception  of  that  between  Monte  Aguara  and  Santa  Fe, 
which  by  the  river  is  within  a  fraction  of  being  four  times  greater. 

On  the  14th  of  October — one  month  from  the  time  we  had 
launched  our  boat  upon  the  Salado  at  Estancia  Taboado — we  be- 
gan to  retrace  our  steps  from  Monte  Cueva  de  Lobo. 


394  A  CORDON  OF  PORTS. 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

Crossing  at  Paso  Mistol. — A  Cordon  of  Posts. — Paso  la  Torre. — A  Wild-goat 
Chase. — Navigation  of  the  Salado* — Sefiora  Mendez. — Sleep  in  the  Open  Air. — 
Reservoirs  of  Water. — Drought. — Arrival  at  Santiago. — A  Ball. — Toasts. — 
Fine  Dancing. — River  Dulce. — Road  to  Tucuman. — Approach  the  Andes. — 
Woodland. — Rio  Tala. — Mountains. — Scenery. — Arrival  at  Tucuman. — Hotels 
in  La  Plata. — Dr.  Priestly. — Sugar-Plantation. — Molasses,  Sugar,  and  Rum  Es- 
tablishment.— Cultivation  of  the  Sugar-cane. — A  Dinner  at  Senor  Zavalier's. — 
Sefiora  and  her  Daughters. — A  Ride  into  the  Country. — Scenery. — Dinner  and 
Ball  at  the  Governor's. — Beauty  of  Spanish-American  Women. — Province  of 
Tucuman. — The  Capital. — Progress. — Statistics. — Cultivation. — Start  for  Salta. 
— Valleys. — Productive  Capacity  of  the  Soil. — Wheat. — Mountain  Road. — Posta 
Romero. — The  foiled  Post-master. — Alimana. — Grassy  Basin. — Destitute  Post- 
master.— Valley  Chiguano. — Upper  Waters  of  the  Salado. — Products  of  Valley 
Chiguano. — River  Rosario. — Ford  the  Arrias. — Arrive  at  Salta. 

October  15th.  At  Paso  Mistol  a  hide  taken  from  the  frame-work 
of  a  toldo  was  in  a  few  minutes  converted  into  a  balsa,  in  wliicii 
we  crossed  the  Salado,  having  determined  to  follow  the  Chaco  side 
some  distance  in  order  to  avoid  patanos  and  observe  the  north- 
ern vueltas  of  the  river  in  returning  to  Santiago. 

The  men  swam  over  with  the  horses.  We  found  a  few  half- 
starved  howling  dogs  still  hanging  around  the  deserted  toldo,  and 
the  skeletons  of  the  two  Indians  who  had  been  killed  in  the  fight 
with  the  governor's  soldiers  bleaching  upon  the  plain.  The  ca- 
ranchas  had  stripped  them  of  every  particle  of  flesh.  Six  miles 
from  the  Paso  we  reached  the  little  lake  Tostado,  which,  from  be- 
ing one  of  the  never-failing  sources  of  fresh  water  in  the  country, 
is  invariably  passed  by  the  Indians  during  their  incursions  into 
the  provinces.  This  is  the  point  for  a  strong  military  post.  After 
I  had  completed  the  exploration  of  the  Salado  I  addressed  a  note 
to  the  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs  for  the  Argentine  Confedera- 
tion, Don  Juan  Maria  Gutierrez,  expressing  my  views  as  to  the 
importance  of  a  cordon  of  posts  to  extend  from  the  Parana,  nine 
miles  below  Groya,  to  this  lake,  which  would,  I  think,  effectually 
confine  the  Indians  to  the  Chaco  north  of  that  line,  and  reclaim 
from  their  devastations  the  finest  districts  of  three  states.  Such 
an  establishment  would  render  entirely  unnecessary  the  mainten- 
ance of  those  now  existing,  and  would  therefore  entail  no  addi- 
tional annual  expenditure  upon  the  government.     Senor  Gutier- 


NAVIGATION  OF  THE  SALADO  395 

rez  wrote  in  reply,  thanking  me  in  tlie  name  of  tlie  President  for 
my  suggestions,  which  he  thought  would  be  adopted,  as  they  ac- 
corded with  his  Excellency's  preconceived  notions  on  the  subject. 

From  the  lake — our  road  being  one  usually  taken  by  the  In- 
dians— was  a  well-beaten  track  through  a  plain  clothed  with  the 
finest  grasses,  and,  both  inland  and  skirting  the  Salado,  wooded 
with  algorroba  and  quebracho.  There  was  not  a  sign  of  human 
occupation  or  a  sound  to  indicate  an  appro'ach  to  the  scenes  of 
man's  industry.  The  rainy  season  had  fairly  set  in,  and  for  sev- 
eral nights  we  slept  upon  the  ground  with  only  the  protection  of 
India-rubber  ponchos.  The  incessant  drenching  to  which  I  was 
exposed  disturbed  me,  however,  less  than  the  myriads  of  musqui- 
toes  that  swarm  the  river  courses  of  the  pampas  at  that  season. 

On  the  16th  we  still  followed  the  grassy  campo,  here  about 
seven  miles  wide,  and  bounded  west  by  the  great  forest  to  which 
I  have  alluded ;  while  to  the  left  flowed  the  Salado,  its  course 
marked  by  a  wooded  belting.  Toward  evening  we  reached  that 
part  of  the  plain  to  which  the  soldiers  pursued  the  Indians  on  the 
25th  of  the  past  month,  when  they  so  suddenly  disapj)eared  in  the 
depths  of  the  wood. 

Before  crossing  the  river  at  Paso  la  Torre  we  chased  a  "  cor- 
zuela,"  the  wild  goat  of  the  country,  which  so  closely  resembles 
the  small  deer  that,  at  a  short  distance,  it  might  be  readily  mis- 
taken for  one..  Notwithstanding  the  jaded  condition  of  our  horses 
we  kept  up  with  the  gauchos,  who,  the  moment  they  espied  the 
little  animal,  dashed  after  it  at  full  speed.  But,  fleet  as  the  deer, 
it  sped  over  the  plain,  gaining  the  river  and  swimming  to  the  op- 
posite bank  before  the  horsemen  were  once  near  enough  to  throw 
the  bolas  or  lasso. 

On  the  17th,  with  fresh  horses  and  two  guides  furnished  by  the 
governor,  we  started  at  an  early  hour  in  a  heavy  rain,  and  reached 
Bracho  the  middle  of  the  same  day. 

I  here  ended  my  examination  of  the  lower  waters  of  the  Salado, 
and  feel  no  hesitation  in  saying  that  a  steamer  properly  construct- 
ed for  this  river  navigation  could  ascend,  the  greater  part  of  the 
year,  from  Santa  Fe  to  Navicha.  The  only  obstructions — grass 
or  fallen  trees — could  be  readily  removed,  without  great  loss  of 
time,  by  a  boat's  crew.  But  there  is  no  reason  why  Navicha 
should  be  the  head  of  navigation.  By  removing  tortora  and  bar- 
ricados,  Matara  would  be  quite  as  accessible  and  a  much  more 
central  point,  being  but  forty-one  miles  from  the  town  of  Santia- 


396 


DON  PESADO  MENDEZ. 


OATIOHO. 


go,  in  a  right  line,  one  hundred  and  fifty-three  from  Tucuman, 
and  one  hundred  and  twenty-eight  from  Sandia  Paso  by  the  river, 
making  the  entire  distance  from  Santa  Fe  to  Matara  five  hund- 
red and  eighty-seven  nautical  miles.  By  ascending  the  Salado 
even  to  Navicha,  the  time  now  consumed  in  the  land  route  from 
Santa  Fe  to  Tucuman  would  be  diminished  at  least  three  fourths, 
and  the  expense  of  transportation — deducting  a  large  profit — one 
half. 

After  obtaining  observations  of  verification  we  left  Bracho,  and 
on  the  same  evening  arrived  at  the  ranch  of  Don  Pesado  Mendez. 
We  found  a  humble  little  thatched  house  of  one  room,  with  a 
shed  in  front ;  for  here,  as  in  other  districts  of  Santiago,  the  in- 
habitants during  the  dry  season  sleep  in  the  open  air,  and  trouble 
themselves  little  about  in-door  arrangements.  Senora  Mendez 
gave  us  an  excellent  supper  of  hominy  and  lamb,  and  the  Don 
offered  me  the  use  of  his  hide  cot.  We  passed,  in  our  ride  from 
Bracho,  some  fine  fields  of  wheat  and  corn,  but  many  of  the 
ranchos  were  deserted,  their  owners  being  still  at  Matara  or  con- 
cealed in  the  wood,  whither  they  had  fled  from  the  last  attack  of 
the  Indians.     It  was  a  melancholy  spectacle  to  see  a  country  thus 


AKRIVAL  AT  SANTIAGO.  397 

desolated,  and  after  witnessing  tlae  courage  with  whicli  the  San- 
tiaganians  pursued  the  Indians  and  received  a  charge  from  them 
on  the  plain,  I  may  repeat  what  Dobrizhoffer  noted  a  hundred 
years  ago :  "  The  mhabitants  of  the  district  of  Santiago  are  dis- 
tinguished ahke  for  the  greatness  of  their  valor  and  the  scantiness 
of  their  means  in  war  against  the  savages." 

After  some  little  detention  at  Matara,  arising  from  the  difficulty 
of  obtaining  horses,  we  continued  our  journey,  and  at  two  o'clock 
arrived  at  the  ranch  of  an  old  man,  who,  though  disturbed  in  his 
first  nap,  proved  good-natured  and  hospitable  to  the  extent  of  his 
means.  Fortunately,  at  this  moment  one  of  the  postillions,  a  good 
fellow  and  a  shrewd  provident  caterer,  produced  from  his  trav- 
ehng  stores  half  of  a  kid,  upon  which  we  made  a  sumptuous 
feast.  The  master  of  the  ranch  offered  me  his  cot,  but  I  preferred 
the  grass.  The  rain  beating  in  my  face  awakened  me  at  4  A.M., 
and  with  the  dawn  we  were  in  the  saddle,  Cornelius  having  first 
performed  the  important  function  of  ministering  to  us  the  mate. 

October  18th.  We  had  now  entered  a  region  neither  artificially 
irrigated  nor  as  yet  refreshed  by  the  commencement  of  the  peri- 
odical rains.  The  grass  was  brown  and  the  vegetation  generally 
so  blighted  that  the  country  would  have  presented  a  desolate  ap- 
pearance but  for  the  fine  woodlands  that  intersected  it.  The 
quebracho-trees  were  the  loftiest  I  had  yet  seen  in  the  Confedera- 
tion. In  this  district  I  saw  for  the  first  time  enormous  reservoirs 
for  the  collection  of  rain-water.  They  are  mere  excavations  pro- 
tected by  embankments  of  earth ;  one  of  a  hundred  feet  in  diam- 
eter, by  a  depth  of  twelve,  affords  an  unfailing  supply  to  a  large 
number  of  cattle.  At  the  estancia  of  Don  Francisco  Santiago, 
who  was  largely  engaged  in  rearing  mules,  was  one  of  still  great- 
er dimensions,.  "We  dined  with  this  gentleman,  whose  household 
was  most  comfortably  arranged,  and  presided  over  by  a  wife  and 
two  pretty  daughters. 

Through  some  mismanagement  the  governor's  orders  to  furnish 
us  with  fresh  horses  had  not  been  received,  and  we  were  compelled 
to  make  the  last  fifty-one  miles  of  this  journey  upon  the  same 
animals  which,  unaware  of  the  difficulty  in  obtaining  others,  we 
had  ridden  in  the  early  part  of  the  day  twenty  miles  at  half  speed. 
They  held  out,  however,  and  on  reaching  Santiago  at  9  P.M.  we 
rode  directly  to  the  residence  of  the  governor,  who  had  not  yet 
arrived,  but  we  were  most  kindly  received  by  his  brother  Don 
Gaspar. 


398  START  FOR  TUCUMAN. 

No  representation  of  a  want  of  time  or  dress  appropriated  to 
such  an  occasion  would  be  received  by  the  Santiaganians  as  an 
excuse  for  declining  the  honor  of  a  public  ball.  On  the  24th  I 
met  at  the  government-house  all  the  beauty  and  fashion  of  Santi- 
ago, and  most  lovely  were  some  of  the  women.  The  music,  re- 
freshments, indeed  all  the  arrangements  of  this  ball  were  admira- 
ble ;  and  when  daylight  peered  through  the  latticed  blinds  the 
gay  assembly  had  by  no  means  diminished.  Waltzes,  polkas,  and 
mazurkas  were  all  introduced  in  the  course  of  the  evening ;  but  I 
was  charmed  with  the  fedral,  the  gario,  and  other  Spanish  dances, 
in  which  the  grace  of  the  women  was  inimitable.  At  the  supper- 
table  Don  Francisco  Archibal,  in  referring  to  the  occasion  of  the 
ball,  alluded  also  to  the  progress  and  prosperity  of  the  United 
States,  and  the  obligation  our  government  had  conferred  upon 
their  country  by  the  happy  results  of  the  expedition  sent  to  ex- 
amine into  its  river  system. 

On  the  27th  I  started  for  Tucuman,  accompanied  for  a  short 
distance  by  some  of  the  most  prominent  citizens  of  Santiago.  Our 
road  for  six  leagues  lay  along  the  south  side  of  the  Dulce,  which 
throughout  that  distance  is  very  unvarying  in  width  and  other 
characteristics.  It  is  a  quarter  of  a  mile  wide,  and  intersected  by 
numerous  sand-flats,  which  interrupt  the  regular  course  of  the 
channel ;  current  two  miles ;  banks  low.  During  the  rise,  which 
is  from  ten  to  twelve  feet,  the  bordering  lands  for  some  distance 
on  both  sides  are  often  inundated.  Judging  from  the  appearance 
of  its  bed  and  the  number  of  streams  that  disembogue  in  this  riv- 
er, its  volume  of  water  must  exceed  that  of  the  Salado,  and  yet  it 
is  represented  as  losing  itself  in  the  Lake  Porongas.  The  adjacent 
country  is  well  wooded  with  algorroba,  vinal,  and  quebracho ;  the 
open  lands  are  populous  and  cultivated ;  the  soil  is  a  rich  dark 
alluvium,  covering  a  friable  limestone. 

Leaving  the  river,  we  passed  through  a  sandy  district  abound- 
ing in  Salinas — shallow,  being  lakes  which  are,  during  the  season 
of  drought,  converted  by  solar  evaporation  into  fields  of  a  fine 
quality  of  snow-white  salt.  At  9  P.M.  we  reached  Gramilla,  hav- 
ing made  twenty-two  leagues.  It  was  a  clear  Ibright  night,  and, 
as  usual,  we  slept  in  the  open  air,  with  poncho  and  saddle  for  bed 
and  bedding.  But  our  rest  was  disturbed  by  a  party  of  musi- 
cians at  the  posta,  who,  with  an  untuned  harp,  a  rustic  guitar,  and 
singing,  made  more  noise  than  harmony. 

October  28th.  After  mate  and  milk  fresh  from  the  cow  we  were 


APPROACH  THE  MOUNTAINS.  399 

again  in  the  saddle  at  6  A.M.,  and  at  the  distance  of  four  leagues 
made  Bargual,  a  settlement  of  a  few  houses  near  the  dividing  line 
between  Santiago  and  Tucuman.  From  Gramilla  to  Bargual  there 
was  some  wheat  growing,  of  apparently  ^cellent  quality,  which 
yielded,  I  was  told,  fifteen  bushels  to  the  acre.  Where  not  in- 
closed for  culture,  the  face  of  the  country  was  verdant  with  fine 
pastures,  which  were  overspread  with  herds  of  cattle  and  flocks 
of  sheep — a  change  not  due  to  artificial  irrigation,  but  to  the  prox- 
imity of  the  mountains. 

From  Bargual  we  approached  in  a  westerly  course  the  mount- 
ains. They  are  a  continuation  of  the  range  known  as  the  Sierras 
of  Cordova,  at  the  base  of  which,  upon  a  broad,  well-watered,  and 
fruitful  plain,  is  the  capital  of  Tucuman.  In  the  distance  rose  the 
mountains  of  Catamarca,  presenting  at  first  the  appearance  of  a 
heap  of  clouds ;  and  again,  as  we  advanced,  of  an  island  at  sea, 
the  base  of  which  is  yet  hid  below  the  horizon. 

Before  crossing  the  Dulce,  or  Tala,  which  courses  a  mile  and  a 
half  east  of  the  city  of  Tucuman,  we  passed  through  a  fine  tract 
of  woodland.  The  air  was  redolent  with  the  perfame  of  acacias 
through  a  natural  avenue  of  which  the  road  lay.  But  rising 
above  all  minor  growth  of  mimosoe  was  the  cevil — as  embellishing 
to  its  native  forests  as  useful  in  the  industrial  establishments  of 
the  country.  Its  smooth,  tall,  limbless  trunk  has  an  umbrella- 
shaped  crowning,  every  bough  and  twig  of  which  is  completely 
hidden  by  a  mass  of  deep  green  fringed  foliage,  and  at  the  season 
of  bloom  by  clusters  of  delicate  white  flowers.  In  this  forest  ride 
we  had  the  enlivenment  of  nature's, gay -plumaged  vocalists,  and, 
as  in  many  parts  of  La  Plata,  trunks  and  limbs  of  trees  were 
inwrapped  and  festooned  with  beautiful  climbing  plants.  The 
dews  are  very  copious,  and  their  refreshing  influence,  as  well  as 
that  of  an  admirable  system  of  natural  and  artificial  irrigation  by 
a  distribution  of  the  waters  of  the  Dulce,  or  Tala,  was  very  ap- 
parent in  the  increased  exuberance  and  activity  of  vegetation. 

Weary  of  the  monotony  of  grassy  levels,  imposingly  grand,  re- 
freshing to  all  the  senses  was  the  panorama  of  mountains  that 
opened  before  us  as  we  emerged  from  the  forest.  These  were  not 
the  insulated  masses  or  the  hillocks  of  the  pampas,  but  parts  of  a 
,  great  system — a  section  of  the  Andean  ranges.  Now  clearly  de- 
fined, the  Sierras  of  Catamarca,  their  highest  summits  white  with 
perpetual  snows,  bounded  the  horizon  west,  and  from  them  ex- 
tended east,  diminishing  in  height  with  the  regularity  of  successive 


400  TUCUMAN. 

steps,  a  series  of  sierras  and  serranias.  ISTortli,  and  some  two  or 
three  miles  from  the  city,  opened  a  broad  longitudinal  valley,  in- 
closed west  by  the  principal  range,  and  east  by  a  detached  ele- 
vation. The  serranias,  with  their  bare  but  verdant  summits  and 
slopes  clothed  with  majestic  forests,  had  all  the  stately  proportion 
of  mountains ;  and  between  them  were  grassy  ridges  several  hund- 
red feet  in  height,  sloping  gently  to  lateral  valleys,  watered  by 
many  small  rivers  which  find  an  outlet  in  the  Tala  at  distances 
varying  from  one  to  twelve  leagues.  These  tributaries,  named  in 
succession  from  Tucmnan  south,  are  the  Lules,  Colorado,  Farma- 
illa,  Aranilla,  Mondolo,  Montaro,  Pueblo,  Viego  Seco,  Conven- 
tilla,  Eamado,  Medcinas,  Chico,  Marapa,  and  Senor  Francisco.  It 
is  at  the  confluence  of  this  last  named  stream  with  the  Dulce  that 
this  river  assumes  the  name  of  Hondo,  which  it  retains  until  it 
enters  the  province  of  Santiago. 

Fatigued  by  a  long  day's  ride  under  an  almost  vertical  sun,  we 
entered  the  city  of  Tucuman,  rode  directly  to  the  plaza,  and  in- 
quired for  the  fonda  (tavern).  After  some  hesitation  we  were  di- 
rected to  a  gloomy -looking  building,  distinguished  by  the  sign  of 
a  chicken-cock ;  but  our  disappointment  may  be  imagined  when 
we  were  told  that  no  quarters  were  to  be  had.  There  are  few 
hotels  in  these  provinces,  and  it  is  the  custom  for  travelers  to  be 
passed  from  one  town  to  another  by  friends  and  acquaintances 
through  letters  of  introduction.  I  had  been  furnished  with  many 
such  passports  from  Santiaganians,  and  though  enjoined  to  present 
them,  I  was  unwilling  to  impose  a  party  of  three  on  the  hospi- 
tality of  a  private  family  without  first  trying  to  procure  rooms. 

Having  heard  that  there  was  an  English  physician  residing  in 
Tucuman,  to  his  house  I  next  turned  from  the  sign  of  the  chicken- 
cock.  We  found  the  residence  of  Dr.  Priestly,  and  of  a  person 
who  opened  the  door  I  inquired  for  '■'■el  Senor  Medico^  Softer 
and  more  grateful  than  the  Pasa  adelcmte  of  the  Spanish  was  the 
cheerful  "  Walk  in.  Sir"  of  an  honest-faced  Enghshman,  To  make 
any  port  in  a  storm  was  with  me,  in  my  wanderings,  an  establish- 
ed rule;  but  here  we  "came  to"  in  a  snug  harbor — the  home  of 
as  fine  a  specimen  of  an  English  gentleman  as  can  be  found  among 
the  lady  sovereign's  subjects.  Most  noble,  and  beautiful,  and  im- 
pressive was  our  mother  tongue  in  those  remote  regions,  from  the . 
lips  of  a  perfect  stranger,  who  invited  us  with  such  unhesitating 
cordiality  to  "  share  the  discomforts  of  my  temporary  bachelor 
estabhshment." 


A  SUGAR  PLANTATION.  401 

A  few  montlis  before  our  arrival,  Dr.  Priestly,  in  crossing  the 
continent  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific  coast,  had  stopped  at 
Tucuman,  where  he  was  induced  to  establish  himself  for  the  prac- 
tice of  his  profession.  He  is  a  man  of  finished  education  and  fine 
manners,  and  so  popular  was  he  personally,  and  so  esteemed  as  a 
surgeon,  that  the  calls  upon  him  for  professional  service  day  and 
night  would  have  given  full  occupation  to  two  more  physicians. 
He  was  well  and  punctually  paid;  and  although  he  considered 
himself  but  a  temporary  resident,  the  really  pleasant  society  of 
the  mountain  city  and  its  fine  climate  will  probably  enchain  the 
doctor  for  many  years  to  come. 

I  had  scarcely  shaken  off  a  little  of  the  dust  of  travel,  when 
several  of  the  most  prominent  of  the  citizens  of  Tucuman  called 
and  begged  me  to  consider  their  "  houses  at  my  disposition."  At 
a  later  hour  two  gentlemen  came  to  invite  us  to  a  ball  at  the  gov- 
ernor's— an  honor  which,  from  fatigue,  I  declined. 

October  29th.  Visited  the  governor,  Don  Jose  Maria  de  Campo, 
and  was  presented  by  the  Minister  of  State,  Senor  Posd.  Here, 
as  in  Santiago,  I  found  it  quite  unnecessary  to  enter  into  any  ex- 
planation as  to  the  object  of  my  visit  to  the  western  states,  for 
news  of  the  expedition  had  preceded  my  arrival,  and  the  recep- 
tion given  me  by  his  Excellency  was  most  flattering. 

On  the  afternoon  of  the  same  day  I  rode  some  two  and  a  half 
miles  in  the  country  to  visit  the  sugar-plantation  of  a  wealthy 
citizen  of  Tucuman.  This  property  is  between  the  first  step  of 
the  sierra,  west,  and  the  city ;  and  though  the  road  to  it  lay 
through  what  was  to  the  eye  a  horizontal  plain,  by  observing  the 
streams  of  water,  I  found  that  it  sloped  upward  the  whole  dis- 
tance. After  riding  over  a  large  part  of  the  estate,  which  em- 
braced several  square  leagues,  and  was  irrigated  by  a  network  of 
miniature  aqueducts,  we  visited  the  estabhshment  connected  with 
it,  from  which  the  Tucumanos  derive  their  chief  supplies  of  sugar, 
rum,  and  molasses.  The  machinery  used  was  of  the  rudest  de- 
scription; indeed  there  was  none  save  upright  wooden  rollers, 
and  there  was  not  only  great  loss  in  expressing  the  saccharine 
matter,  but  very  unnecessary  labor  and  expense  incurred  in  ob- 
taining fuel  and  removing  the  refuse  cane  to  a  distance.  The 
owner  of  this  property  seemed  to  be  unaware  of  a  more  economi- 
cal system,  and  expressed  some  astonishment  when  I  told  him 
that  in  other  countries  the  refuse  cane  constituted  the  chief  fuel 
on  the  largest  sugar-plantations.     The  sirup  was  poured  into 

26 


402  DINNER  AT  SENOR  ZAVALIER'S. 

conical  jars,  placed  with  the  apex  downward,  and  open,  but  suf- 
ficiently obstructed  to  admit  of  the  filtration  of  the  treacle ;  leaving 
the  sugar  a  solid  mass  moulded  to  the  form  of  the  jar,  and  ready 
for  use.  The  cane  is  planted  in  May,  and  first  crop  cut  in  July, 
the  following  year ;  but  from  this  product  molasses  and  rum  alone 
are  made. 

The  country  between  the  Dulce  and  the  serranias  west  of  it  is 
most  admirably  adapted  to  the  culture  of  the  sugar-cane  and  rice, 
not  only  from  soil  and  cHmate,  but  also  from  the  many  and  never- 
failing  rivulets  that  intersect  it,  and  from  which  the  most  exten- 
sive system  of  irrigation  could  be  carried  out.  In  the  immediate 
vicinity  of  the  city,  plantations  of  one  and  a  half  to  two  leagues, 
possessing  every  advantage  of  wood  and  water,  are  valued  at 
$3000,  and  they  diminish  in  price  in  proportion  to  their  distance 
from  the  capital.  Sugar  made  in  the  neighborhood  is  sold  in 
Tucuman  at  twelve  and  fifteen  cents  the  pound ;  but  the  supply 
is  inadequate  to  the  demand.  Laborers  are  as  much  needed  here 
as  in  other  parts  of  the  Confederation,  save  Santiago ;  and,  with 
their  introduction  and  that  of  improved  machinery,*  the  State  of 
Tucuman  could  not  only  supply  the  home  demand,  but  that  of 
neighboring  provinces  with  sugar  and  rice.  The  value  of  land  is 
said  to  have  greatly  increased  since  the  adoption  of  the  present 
constitution  and  the  union  of  the  states.  Laborers  command  six 
dollars  per  month. 

October  SOth.  I  received  a  visit  from  Don  Sebastiano  Zavalier, 
which  was  followed  by  an  invitation  to  a  dinner  at  his  house, 
where,  on  the  SOth,  I  met  a  large  company  of  the  leading  citizens 
of  the  place.  The  remoteness  of  Tucuman  from  all  other  centres 
of  civilization,  even  in  La  Plata,  must  be  my  excuse  for  alluding 
specially  to  this  entertainment,  all  the  arrangements  of  which  were 
as  elegant  as  could  be  met  with  in  the  well-appointed  mansions  of 
any  country.  A  variety  of  native  and  foreign  wines  of  fine  qual- 
ity circulated  freely.  Our  host  gave  us  his  toast:  "The  three 
great  epochs  in  the  country's  history :  the  independence,  the  fall 
of  Kosas,  and  the  discovery  of  the  navigability  of  the  Salado." 
Other  complimentary  speeches  and  sentiments  followed.  The 
Constitution  of  the  United  States  was  named  as  the  model  after 

*  In  compliance  with  a.  promise  made  at  the  time,  I  have,  since  my  return,  sent 
to  a  gentleman  of  Tucuman,  who  was  anxious  to  introduce  improved  machinery  for 
making  sugar,  cleaning  rice,  etc.,  the  published  catalogue  of  one  of  the  most  ex- 
tensive manufacturers  of  machinery  in  this  country. 


A  RIDE  IN  THE  COUNTRY.  403 

which  their  own  had  been  framed ;  our  government  as  the  earli- 
est to  recognize  their  independence ;  and  our  explorations  as  the 
first  to  establish  the  fact  of  their  possessing  an  outlet  to  the  At- 
lantic by  a  navigable  river.  I  replied  in  a  speech  which  was,  I 
fear,  only  remarkable  for  the  indifferent  Spanish  in  which  it  was 
expressed.  After  cigars  and  coffee  we  repaired  to  the  drawing- 
room — a  cool  spacious  apartment  opening  upon  the  patio — where 
I  was  presented  to  Senora  Zavalier  and  her  two  pretty  daughters. 
The  musical  talent  of  the  latter  astonished  me,  for  I  understood 
the  senora  to  say  that  these  ladies  had  been  educated  in  Tucuman. 
Their  instrumentation  was  such  as  is  rarely  heard  in  the  private 
circles  of  the  United  States ;  and  the  piano,  which  had  been  trans- 
ported some  nine  hundred  miles  or  more  by  ox-wagons,  was  in 
admirable  condition. 

October  ?,lst.  By  appointment  I  joined  Senor  Pose,  our  friend 
the  doctor,  and  several  other  gentlemen,  in  an  excursion  to  the 
country.  A  ride  of  two  or  three  miles  over  a  part  of  the  plain, 
dotted  by  a  few  dwellings,  which  were  generally  shaded  by  fine 
trees,  and  surrounded  by  cultivated  fields,  brought  us  to  the  base 
of  one  of  the  steps  of  the  Cordillera.  Passing  through  a  forest  of 
noble  trees,  which  looked  as  if  they  might  represent  a  growth  of 
many  centuries,  we  reached  the  unwooded  but  grassy  summit  of 
the  mountain.  Here  the  landscapes  spread  out  around  us,  brill- 
iant with  the  many  tints,  the  light  and  shadows  which  in  tropical 
countries  so  enrich  the  views  of  nature,  were  extraordinarily  va- 
ried, and  in  their  characteristic  elements  we  recognized  much  both 
of  the  majesty  and  beauty  of  creation.  West,  the  snow-capped 
summits  of  the  Catamarca  Mountains  towered  majestically  above 
all  lesser  eminences ;  north  and  south  extended  a  lower  range 
longitudinally ;  and  east  was  the  plain  of  Tucuman,  stretching 
out  to  those  vast  and  grassy  levels  through  which  we  had  wan- 
dered for  so  many  months.  Southward  through  it  flowed  the 
Tala  or  Dulce,  its  windings  marked  by  a  belt  of  wood,  narrowing 
to  a  mere  dark,  thread-like  Une,  until,  with  all  other  objects,  it 
was  lost  in  the  blending  of  clouds  and  plain  in  the  azure  that 
bounded  the  horizon.  At  one  point  only,  where  the  river  makes 
a  sudden  bend  east,  were  its  waters  visible,  sparkling  like  bur- 
nished metal  in  the  intense  light  that  flooded  the  plain.  The  eye 
embraced,  within  the  limits  of  a  few  miles,  the  vegetation  of  all 
zones.  We  looked  down  upon  fields  of  ceralia,  sugar-plantations, 
and  orange-groves ;  upon  rich  pasture-lands  overspread  with  herds 


404       ENTERTAINMENT  AT  THE  GOVERNOR'S. 

of  cattle ;  into  a  series  of  valleys,  with  their  miniature  nver  sys- 
tem— a  beautiful  physical  feature,  and  a  beneficent  provision  for 
the  economy  of  nature  in  these  regions  of  periodical  rains.  The 
air  was  dehciously  temperate ;  we  inhaled  the  delicious  tropical 
aromas ;  yet  within  a  short  distance  of  us  were  regions  exhibiting 
all  the  dreary  phenomena  of  perpetual  winter. 

Passing  over  the  serranias  by  a  winding  road,  we  descended 
into  a  valley  watered  by  a  small  river,  along  which  extended  the 
Estancia  San  Javier,  the  property  of  one  of  the  gentlemen  of  our 
party,  where  I  passed  the  night.  We  bagged  several  brace  of  the 
large  partridge,  which  seemed  to  be  a  characteristic  bird  of  the 
country. 

November  2d.  Dined  at  the  governor's,  where  I  met  several  of 
the  principal  citizens  of  Tucuman.  The  dinner  was  followed  by 
a  ball.  Three  rooms  were  crowded  to  excess,  and  many  of  the 
fairer  portion  of  the  guests  were  well  dressed  and  handsome, 
fully  meeting  the  noblest  and  most  popular  idea  of  the  Spanish 
type  of  beauty.  But  it  is  the  grace  of  the  women,  the  suaviter  in 
modo  of  the  men,  that  most  astonish  a  traveler  in  La  Plata ;  for 
few  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  interior  provinces  had  enjoyed  even 
that  intercourse  with  foreign  society  which  a  visit  to  Buenos 
Ayres  would  give ;  and  as  books,  and  especially  new  books,  were 
not  among  their  luxuries,  they  had  not  even  the  opportunities 
which  they  would  afford  of  acquiring  a  knowledge  of  the  conven- 
tionalities of  other  countries.  ^ 

That  vast  region  conquered  by  the  Spanish  of  Peru,  which  ex- 
tended north  to  the  district  of  Tarifa,  south  to  the  Magellanic 
plains,  east  to  the  territory  of  Buenos  Ayres,  and  west  to  the 
mountains  of  Chili,  now  covers  the  limits  of  some  half  dozen  of 
the  western  states  of  the  Confederation.  It  was  first  entered  in 
1543  by  Don  Diego  Eojas,  and  some  years  later  by  Juan  Nunez 
de  Prado,  who  called  it  Tucuman  in  honor  of  Tucumamahao,  a 
principal  cacique  of  one  of  its  aboriginal  tribes,  with  whom  he 
formed  an  alliance.  The  present  state  of  Tucuman  is  one  of  the 
smallest  in  the  Confederation ;  but  from  its  varied  and  productive 
soil,  noble  physical  features,  and  amenity  of  climate,  it  perhaps 
merits  the  proud  appellation  it  enjoys,  "  Garden  of  the  United 
Provinces."  The  hostility  of  savages  and  intestine  wars  have  not 
been  the  only  calamities  of  the  western  provinces.  They  have 
been  disturbed  by  convulsions  of  nature — inundations  and  earth- 
quakes— which  have  caused  many  changes  in  the  face  of  the  coun- 


THE  CITY  AND  PKOVINCE  OF  TUCUMAN.  405 

try.  San  Miguel  de  Tucuman  was  founded  in  1565  by  Don  Diego 
de  Villaroel  on  a  branch,  of  the  Dulce,  about  twelve  miles  from 
the  site  of  the  present  town,  whither  the  inhabitants  removed  in 
1685,  in  consequence  of  an  inundation  which  swept  away  a  large 
part  of  the  old  capital. 

In  1841:  an  earthquake,  which  was  felt  over  an  immense  tract 
of  country,  extending  through  two  or  three  of  the  west  provinces, 
did  some  injury  to  the  city  of  Tucuman,  which  stands  on  a  well- 
wooded  fertile  plain,  in  latitude  26°  51'*  south,  longitude,  ap- 
proximately, 66°  west,  and  is  supposed  to  contain  at  this  time 
twelve  thousand  inhabitants.  Its  narrow  streets  intersect  each 
other  at  right  angles.  Many  of  the  houses  are  brick  and  very 
spacious,  inclosing  patios  or  courts ;  some  few  have  alios^  or  second 
stories.  The  cathedral,  which  is  upon  the  plaza,  is  being  remod- 
eled ;  and,  judging  from  the  design,  it  will,  when  completed,  be  an 
imposing  church  edifice.  There  were  also  several  private  resi- 
dences in  course  of  construction.  Indeed,  the  whole  town  pre- 
sented an  aspect  of  progress  and  prosperity ;  and  I  was  induced 
to  believe,  from  the  tone  which  seemed  to  pervade  society,  that 
there  was  a  fixed  determination  among  the  most  respectable  mem- 
bers of  the  community  to  sustain  a  constitutional  government,  a 
union  of  the  states,  the  maintenance  of  peace,  and  the  adoption  of 
energetic  measures  to  develop  the  resources  of  the  state.  The 
first  step  was  to  encourage  the  immigration  of  an  industrial  popu- 
lation. 

Among  other  new  enterprises,  a  vivacious,  energetic  French- 
man, notwithstanding  the  expense  and  difficulties  of  obtaining  ice 
from  the  mountains  by  mule  transportation,  furnished  the  Tucu- 
manos  with  an  abundant  supply  of  excellent  water  and  eream  ices. 

The  province  is  divided  into  nine  departments  or  districts,  the 
aggregate  population  of  which,  at  the  present  time,  amounts  to 
88,511  souls,  of  whom  there  are  23,128  men,  and  27,877  women, 
an  excess  of  4749  women.f  This  arises  from  the  numerous  civil 
wars  in  which  the  Confederation  was  involved  from  the  period 
of  its  independence  to  the  downfall  of  Rosas.  Among  the  chil- 
dren, the  excess,  though  small — 700 — is  in  favor  of  males.  The 
value  of  products  for  the  year  1854  was  1,755,250  dollars,  of 
which  the  value  of  847,000  dollars  was  consumed  in  the  prov- 
ince, and  the  remainder  in  the  neighboring  states.     The  principal 

*  Determined  by  Mr.  Murdauph. 

t  From  statistical  information  furnished  by  the  Minister  of  State. 


406  TOBACCO  CULTURE. 

products  are  corn,  tobacco,  wlieat,  sugar,  rice,  rum,  hides,  sole- 
leather,  tanned  calf-skins,  cattle,  woolen  fabrics,  oranges,  cheese, 
carretas,  and  a  number  of  minor  manufactured  articles.  The  mar- 
ket price  of  some  of  these  articles  for  1854  was  kindly  furnished 
me  by  the^  governor's  minister,  Don  Jos^  Pose :  Corn,  50  cents 
per  bushel ;  tobacco,  8  cents  the  pound ;  wheat,  80  cents  the  bush- 
el; sugar,  12  cents  the  pound;  rice,  3  cents;  rum  (cana),  $17  the 
barrel ;  hides,  $1  50  each ;  sole-leather,  $4  the  skin ;  calfskin, 
tanned,  $2 ;  carretas,  $50  each.  Of  these  the  principal  articles  of 
trade  with  the  neighboring  provinces  are  cattle,  hides,  leather, 
carretas,  manufactured  articles  of  wool,  tobacco,  corn,  rum,  and 
sugar. 

I  present  also  an  estimate,  derived  from  a  reliable  source,  of  the 
expenses  incident  to  the  purchase  and  cultivation  of  a  quadra^  of 
land,  inclosed  in  the  usual  manner  by  a  ditch  or  cactus  hedge, 
and  the  probable  receipts  of  the  same  from  the  cultivation  of  to- 
bacco. The  cost  of  the  land  assumed  in  this  case  is  unusually 
great,  and  must  be  received  as  an  indication  that  the  position  is 
very  desirable. 

Cost  of  land  inclosed $50  00 

Four  plows  complete,  at  $4 16  00 

Eight  oxen  accustomed  to  plow,  at  $20     .     .     .  160  00 

One  carreta,  or  wagon 30  00 

Two  sheds  for  tobacco 120  00 

Necessary  implements 2400 

Total  cost $400  00 

Charges  on  $400  at  12  per  cent $48  00 

Three  laborers,  8  months,  at  $8  per  month  .     .     .  192  00 
One  laborer  during  the  year,  $8  per  month  .     .     .     96  00 

Storage  of  tobacco 100  00 

Tax  on  a  quadra  of  land 2  00 

Total  expenses $438  00 

The  product  of  a  quadra  of  land  in  tobacco,  500  arobas,  at )  ^^  ^-^^  -^^ 
$2,  or  12,000  pounds  at  8  cents \  ^^^^^  ^" 

From  which  deduct  the  expenses 43800 

And  we  have  the  net  remainder $562  00 

After  a  week's  sojourn  at  Tucuman,  having  obtained  such  ob- 
servations as  the  means  at  my  disposal  admitted — for  the  chro- 
nometer had  failed  to  maintain  such  a  regularity  of  rate  as  to  give 

*  One  hundred  and  fifty  yards  square. 


JOUKNEY  TO  SALTA.  407 

satisfactory  results — on  tlie  4tli  of  November,  at  10  o'clock  A.M., 
I  started  for  Salta, 

In  my  journeys  in  those  provinces  I  observed  that  tbe  most 
wretched-looking  horses  were  furnished  us  in  starting  from  the 
large  towns.  Those  given  us  at  Tucuman  were  no  exception; 
but  I  had  learned  to  disregard  appearances.  With  the  sierra  of 
Candelaria  upon  the  right,  our  road  lay  through  the  broad  valley, 
which  was  seen  at  a  distance  in  approaching  Tucuman ;  it  was 
intersected  by  several  streams ;  soil  sandy,  with  some  cultivation 
of  wheat;  but  country  sparsely  populated  for  fourteen  leagues. 
From  this  we  passed  into  a  second  valley,  Bepos,  verdant,  fertile, 
well  watered,  and  enameled  by  luxuriant  fields  of  wheat ;  its 
whole  aspect  contrasting  impressively  with  the  rugged  sierras 
which  bound  it  on  either  side.  The  habitations  of  adobe,  thatch- 
ed with  grass,  resembled  country  houses  of  Santiago,  but  were 
entirely  unlike  those  in  the  southern  part  of  the  province. 

At  sunset  we  reached  the  Posta  Asequion,  having  thus,  not- 
withstanding the  late  hour  at  which  we  left  Tucuman — 10  o'clock 
A.M. — made  twenty  leagues.  The  soil  between  the  two  last 
postas,  a  distance  of  six  leagues,  was  light  and  sandy.  I  was; 
therefore  astonished  to  learn  from  the  master  of  the  posta  that 
the  product  of  wheat  was  about  fifty-six  for  one,  that  is,  from  the 
seed  of  one  almude  they  reap  seven  cargas.^  I  suppose  my  man- 
ner implied  a  doubt,  for  he  enforced  his  assertion  with  great  ear- 
nestness :  "  Si^  Senor,  es  verdad.^^ 

It  is  very  difficult  to  obtain  information  from  the  country  peo- 
ple themselves  as  to  the  capacity  of  the  soil.  When  I  asked  the 
simple  questions,  "What  quantity  of  wheat  will  you  reap  from  the 
seed  of  an  almude  or  fanega  ?  Upon  how  much  land  will  you  sow 
that  quantity  of  seed?"  they  were  generally  answered  with  an  im- 
patient "  Non  se,  Senor ;"  while  the  countenance  of  the  individual 
questioned,  indicated  either  astonishment  or  irritation.  My  own 
impression  is  that,  where  naturally  or  artificially  watered,  the 
fruitfulness  of  the  valleys  is  excessive,  though  the  soil  is  light. 

At  Asequion  I  fixed  my  bedding,  horse-blanket  and  poncho, 
upon  a  bench  made  of  half  a  tree,  within  the  posta,  a  miserable 
ranch  of  one  room,  ten  by  twelve,  where  I  had  as  neighbors  the 
master,  his  wife,  cat,  chickens,  etc.  But  I  soon  repented  of  my 
boldness,  for  though  assured  that  there  were  no  fleas,  I  was  at- 
tacked on  all  sides  by  vermin,  and  gladly  made  my  escape  with 

*  A  carga,  in  this  province,  is  equal  to  eight  almudes.  ' 


408  DISCOMFORTS  OF  TRAVELING. 

the  dawn  of  day.  The  total  absence  of  every  comfort  and  neglect 
of  the  smallest  preparation  for  the  accommodation  of  travelers  at 
these  postas  is  a  reproach  to  the  beautiful  province  of  Tucuman. 
The  horses  furnished  us  were  the  most  wretched-looking  animals 
I  had  yet  seen  in  the  Confederation ;  but,  as  an  evidence  that  the 
stock  is  not  bad,  I  must  observe  that  when  they  did  not  actually 
break  down  they  exhibited  both  strength  and  speed.  The  in- 
habitants of  the  country  seemed  to  have  no  idea  of  time,  and, 
when  assured  that  horses  would  be  ready  at  daylight,  I  always 
knew  that  we  might  expect  them  four  hours  later.  I  have  often 
thought  that  if  some  enterprising  Yankee  clock -peddler  would 
penetrate  into  those  regions,  and  induce  the  purchase  of  his 
wares,  he  would  be  a  national  benefactor. 

We  got  off  at  half  past  seven,  although  we  had  ordered  the 
horses  at  four,  and  reached  Tala,  six  leagues,  in  one  hour  and  a 
half.  A  few  minutes  before  arriving  at  this  place,  we  forded  the 
river  of  the  same  name,  in  the  characteristics  of  which,  at  this  dis- 
tance west,  I  found  but  few  changes.  Its  wide  bed  was  intersect- 
ed by  sand-shoals,  and  the  banks  on  either  side  were  fringed  with 
a  dense  growth  of  algorroba  and  tala.  We  had,  before  reaching 
this  stream,  entered  the  province  of  Salta,  but  what  course  the 
division  line  takes  I  was  unable  to  learn ;  for  unless  the  bounda- 
ries of  the  provinces  are  defined  by  some  prominent  physical  fea- 
ture, they  are  entirely  unknown. 

From  this  point  we  had  the  choice  of  two  routes  to  Salta ;  one 
through  the  plains,  the  camino  carril  (cart  road) ;  the  other,  el  ca- 
mino  de  las  cuesias  (road  of  the  hills).  With  the  assurance  that 
there  was  no  difficulty  in  procuring  horses  I  took  the  latter,  in- 
tending to  return  by  the  plains.  At  the  Posta  Antonio  Lopez, 
said  to  be  three  leagues  from  Tala,  actually  but  two,  we  began 
the  ascent  of  the  mountains,  but  a  thick  mist  that  enveloped  us 
like  a  mantle,  and  a.  drizzling  rain,  deprived  me  of  the  enjoyment 
I  had  anticipated  from  the  scenery.  The  path,  at  the  beginning 
of  the  ascent  narrow  and  slippery,  became  more  difficult  as  we 
advanced,  and  toward  the  summit  was  in  some  places  really 
frightful.  Our  horses  frequently  lost  foothold  upon  the  smooth 
rocK,  and  would  slide  some  distance  before  regaining  their  feet. 
Sometimes  the  path  was  barely  wide  enough  for  a  single  horse- 
man, with  a  perpendicular  wall  of  rock  rising  for  several  hund- 
red feet  on  one  side,  and  a  precipice  of  equal  depth  on  the  oth- 
er ;  here  the  animals  seemed  to  brace  themselves,  and  cautiously 


ROMERO.— SAUSE.  409 

moved  on  as  if  fally  aware  that  one  false  step  would  precipitate 
us  into  tlie  depths  below.  After  an  unpleasant  ride  of  two  hours 
and  a  half,  with  the  constant  apprehension  of  a  slide  that  would 
send  us  into  the  abyss,  we  reached  at  sunset  the  summit  of  the 
mountain,  and  stopped  for  the  night  at  the  Posta  Eomero.  Cold, 
wet,  and  tired,  I  had  made  a  miserable  anchorage,  but  improved 
matters  a  little  by  the  promise  of  ample  pay  to  the  old  woman  at 
the  posta,  and  a  good  supper  to  our  postillions,  who  preferred 
this  port  to  a  night's  ride  in  returning.  They  soon  built  up  a 
blazing  fire,  and  with  a  kid  from  the  post-master's  flock,  coffee  and 
cigars  from  our  stores,  we  had  a  good  supper,  and  smoked  our- 
selves and  the  whole  party  into  good  humor. 

An  accomplished  entomologist  would  have  found  varied  objects 
of  interest  in  this  ranch,  within  which  the  heavy  rain  obliged  us 
to  spread  our  blankets.  Insects  innumerable,  armies  of  vermin, 
attacked  us  front,  flank,  and  rear,  until,  maddened  by  the  on- 
slaught, I  charged  into  the  open  air,  and  escaped  the  enemy  by 
making  my  bed  upon  the  wet  ground. 

At  an  early  hour  we  continued  our  journey,  passing  along  the 
ridges  of  the  cuestas,  with  a  bright,  clear,  invigorating  atmosphere, 
and  enjoyed  excessively  the  varied  scenery  of  mountains  from 
base  to  summit  clothed  with  grass,  of  valleys  bright  with  herbage 
and  watered  by  many  rivulets,  over  which  projected  huge  masses 
and  cliffs  of  reddish  sandstone. 

Four  leagues  from  Eomero  we  reached  Sause,  where  we  met 
the  most  uncivil  people  jet  seen  in  the  course  of  my  travels.  A 
post-road  formerly  passed  this  place,  and,  although  abandoned  by 
the  government,  it  is  still  used  by  travelers,  and  we  had  been  as- 
sured that  we  would  here  meet  with  better  horses  than  any  yet 
seen.  But  there  were  none  for  us.  I  saw  through  this  move ; 
it  was  an  attempt — and  one  of  rare  occurrence — to  extort  money ; 
for  the  sum  I  offered,  although  double  the  postal  charge,  did  not 
meet  their  expectations.  Directing  the  postillions  to  follow,  I 
coolly  moved  off  on  the  Eomero  horses,  leaving  our  friend  the 
the  post-master,  with  folded  arms  and  an  astonished  air,  to  medi- 
tate upon  my  obstinacy.  The  postillion  complained,  but  with  the 
promise  of  extra  pay  became  reconciled  to  extra  duty. 

Five  leagues  from  Sause  we  entered  a  grassy  valley,  or,  more 
properly,  a  basin ;  for  although  a  league  in  diameter,  viewed  from 
any  point,  it  seemed  entirely  surrounded  by  mountains.  Through 
it  flowed  eastwardly  a  considerable  stream,  the  "Eio  del  Pampa," 


410  CHAKIQUI.— SAUSE. 

wMch,  from  its  course  and  volume  of  water,  I  should  suppose 
must  be  a  tributary  of  the  Salado. 

We  arrived  at  the  Posta  Chariqui  early  in  the  afternoon ;  but, 
owing  to  the  absence  of  the  master,  who  did  not  reach  home  until 
after  night,  we  were  unable  to  proceed;  for  I  was  unwilhng  to 
subject  to  a  more  severe  test  either  the  temper  of  our  postillion 
or  the  strength  of  the  horses,  upon  which  we  had  traveled  over 
mountain  roads  ten  leagues.  In  this  neighborhood  I  saw  some 
excellent  fields  of  wheat,  good  houses,  and  small  flocks  of  sheep. 
The  post-master  was  civil,  obliging,  and  punctual  to  his  word ;  for 
at  dawn  he  was  off  in  search  of  horses,  and  in  a  reasonable  time 
we  were  ascending  a  rugged  sierra,  near  the  summit  of  which  was 
a  miserable  hovel,  the  Posta  Alimana.  The  appearance  and  man- 
ners of  the  master  were  as  rugged  as  the  rocks  among  which  he 
was  domiciled.  He  was,  he  said,  wretchedly  poor,  could  give  us 
nothing  to  eat,  and  could  furnish  no  horses.  When  informed  that 
we  would  pay  for  all  accommodation ;  that  for  five  horses,  three 
saddle  and  two  cargaro  animals,  with  a  postillion  to  each,  I  would 
pay — "  How  much?"  he  asked,  eagerly,  "  One  real" — double  the 
usual  charge — his  memory  was  suddenly  refreshed,  and  he  re- 
membered that  he  could  give  us  all  we  wanted.  A  boiled  fowl 
defied  knives  and  teeth ;  but  with  soup  and  masamora  (hominy), 
served  in  a  wooden  bowl,  we  made  a  satisfactory  meal.  In  fine 
spirits  we  began  the  descent  of  the  mountain,  through  rocky  ra- 
vines ;  and  at  a  distance  of  six  leagues  entered  the  plain,  and  were 
again  upon  the  regular  line  of  postas. 

No  traveler  should  follow  this  route  during  the  rainy  season, 
for  a  slip  or  false  step  of  his  horse  at  certain  points — and  of  these 
there  are  several — would  inevitably  be  certain  death.  For  the 
same  reason  he  should  so  regulate  his  departure  from  the  postas 
as  not  to  be  on  the  road  at  night. 

Soon  after  reaching  the  plain  we  passed  the  settlement  of  Sause, 
and,  two  miles  beyond,  entered  a  broad,  lovely  valley,  Chigua- 
no,  bounded  west  by  the  main  sierra,  a  continuation  of  the  range 
seen  at  Cordova  and  afterward  at  Tucuman,  and  east  by  a  spur 
of  the  first.  Through  this  valley  flowed  the  upper  waters  of  the 
river  we  had  been  exploring — the  Salado — here  known  as  the 
San  Carlos ;  a  little  lower  as  Guaychipas ;  lower  still  as  the  Pasa- 
je ;  and  finally  Salado — a  name  which,  as  we  have  shown,  it  main- 
tains from  the  Province  of  Santiago  to  the  Parana.  The  whole 
country  exhibited  the  most  cheering  evidences  of  man's  industry. 


ARRIVAL  AT  SALTA.  ^n 

The  cultivation  of  wlieat  was  extensive,  and  near  Guaycliipas — a 
village  of  well-built  houses — figs,  grapes,  and  peaches  were  grow- 
ing in  perfection. 

November  8th.  Forded  the  Guaychipas,  here  divided  by  a  nar- 
row strip  of  land,  which  at  the  season  of  high  water  is  inundated. 
The  main  branch  has  a  width  of  about  eighty  yards ;  banks  six 
feet  above  the  water-level. 

After  passing  this  stream  our  road  lay  north  through  the  same 
valley  for  a  distance  of  fourteen  leagues.  The  country  was  well 
watered  and  cultivated  in  wheat,  corn,  tobacco,  sugar-cane,  and 
cotton.  Wheat,  owing  to  the  humidity  of  the  atmosphere,  is  sub- 
ject to  a  disease  similar  to  that  known  with  us  as  the  rust ;  but 
in  good  seasons  the  average  yield  is  from  twenty  to  thirty  for  one, 
and  for  home  consumption  it  commands  readily  one  dollar  and 
sixty  cents  the  bushel.  The  other  articles  named  as  products 
were  cultivated  to  a  limited  extent,  but  with  such  success  as  to 
demonstrate  fully  the  admirable  adaptation  of  soil  and  climate  to 
their  growth. 

November  9  th.  Near  the  Posta  las  Percas,  distant  eight  leagues 
from  Salta,  we  crossed  the  dry  bed  of  the  Eiver  Rosario,  which  is 
during  the  rainy  season  a  rapid  stream ;  it  is  a  tributary  of  the 
Guaychipas.     The  direction  of  the  valley  was  still  north. 

The  sun  was  setting  when  we  left  Percas,  but  by  a  little  extra 
compensation  I  persuaded  the  master  to  allow  us  to  continue  on 
with  the  same  horses  to  Salta.  When  within  one  mile  of  the  city 
we  forded  the  River  Arias,  another  tributary  of  the  Guaychipas. 
It  was  too  dark  to  obtain  any  correct  idea  of  its  characteristics, 
except  that  it  seemed  to  be  a  considerable  stream.  We  reached 
Salta  at  10  o'clock  P.M. 


412  A  NIGHT  AT  A  ZAMBO. 


CHAPTEK  XXIV. 

A  Night  at  a  Zambo. — Messrs.  Pelacio. — Acts  of  Courtesy. — Province  of  Salta. — 
Population. — Products. — Salinas. — The  Capital. — Advantages  of  Salado  Nav- 
igation.— Mules. — Leather  and  Wool. — Trees. — The  Pacaray.-^Silk  Rolls. — 
Wheat. — Copper. — Governor. — Music  and  Dancing. — Exiled  Bolivians. — Revo- 
lutionary state  of  Bolivia. — Departure  from  Salta. — Tropas  of  Asses. — Lake 
Cabo. — Simbola. — Rivers  Pasaje  and  Las  Piedras. — Forests. — Little  Use  of  Milk 
in  La  Plata. — Forest  of  Sevil. — Don  Martin  Giiemes. — Breakfast  in  the  Forest. — 
Stage-coach. — Ferry-boats. — Beauty  of  Country. — Arrival  at  Tucuman. — Horse- 
bacTc  Travel. — Gaucho  Life. — Visit  from  the  Governor. — Map  of  the  Province  of 
Tucuman. — Farewell  to  Friends  in  Tucuman. — Day's  Ride. — Dulce  Boat. — San- 
tiago and  Reception  at  the  Governor's. — Head  Waters  of  the  Salado. — Laboring 
Classes  in  Santiago.  —  Hospitality  of  Spanish- Americans.  —  Harvest. — Narrow 
Escape. — Horses. — A  Cordova  Posta. — Fined  for  fast  Riding. — Leave  Cordova. 
— Return  Route  across  the  Pampas. — Galera  from  Rosario. — Diligencia. — River 
Tercero. — Tropa  of  Mules  from48an  Juan. — River  Quai  to. — Fording  the  Quarto. 
— Pop-corn  Party. — Division  Line  between  Cordova  and  Santa  Fe. — Postillion, 
—  Growth  of  Rosario. — Bi-itish  Consul. — Farther  Examinations  of  La  Plata 
Channels. — Preparations  for  Departure. — Letters  of  Recall. — Boatswain's  Call. 
— Germantown.  — Lieutenant  Ridgely.  — Home. 

There  is  no  hotel  in  Salta,  and,  profiting  by  tlie  experience  of 
tlie  past,  I  determined  at  once  to  deliver  the  letters  of  a  Santiago 
friend  to  his  relatives,  the  Messrs.  Pelacio.  On  riding  up  to  their 
residence  we  were  told  that  all  the  gentlemen'  of  the  family  were 
at  the  theatre.  The  postillion  then  suggested  a  zambo,  a  sort  of 
"  drover's  stand,"  where  mule-drivers  stop  for  shelter  only,  as  they 
travel  with  their  own  supplies  of  food,  blankets,  etc.  It  was  a 
large  one-storied  building,  surrounded  by  a  court,  upon  which 
opened  all  the  rooms,  which  were  evidently  designed  originally 
for  a  more  elegant  purpose.  _With  an  air  of  great  self-satisfaction 
the  master  showed  us  an  apartment  carpeted  with  the  accumula- 
ted dust  of  months,  gracefully  hung  with  cobwebs,  and  luxuri- 
ously furnished  with  an  old  table  on  three  legs,  to  which  were 
added,  for  our  particular  accommodation,  two  chairs.  With  this 
service  he  seemed  to  think  he  had  met  every  reasonable  demand, 
and  I  had  been  too  long  a  wanderer  in  the  wilderness  to  be  dainty ; 
so  we  took  possession,  spread  our  blankets  on  the  bricks,  and  then 
sallied  forth  in  search  of  a  caf6,  where  we  obtained  an  excellent 
supper. 

November  11th.  Don  Santiago  Pelacio  and  his  brother,  who  call- 


PROVINCE  OF  SALTA.  4I3 

ed  at  an  early  hour,  were  mucli  amused  and  provoked  at  the 
wretched  accommodation  of  our  first  night  in  Salta,  and  insisted 
upon  my  returning  with  them  to  their  house.  This  visit  was  fol- 
lowed immediately  by  one  from  the  brother  of  Senora  Zavalier, 
whose  husband  was  absent,  claiming  us  as  her  guests ;  for,  having 
heard  of  my  intended  visit,  she  had  prepared  rooms  for  us.  This 
lady  had,  two  years  before  the  period  of  my  visit  to  Salta,  been 
offered  a  passage  on  the  Water  Witch  from  Eosario  to.  Parana, 
and  now  desired  to  show  her  appreciation  of  this  little  act  of 
courtesy.  After  much  amicable  discussion  between  the  two  par- 
ties, it  was  arranged  that  I  should  go  to  Senor  Pelacio's,  but 
each  day  of  my  stay  at  Salta  should  breakfast,  dine,  or  sup  with 
the  senora. 

Salta  is  divided  into  three  departments,  Salta,  Jujuy,  and  Oran, 
and  is  supposed  to  contain  a  population  of  sixty  thousand  souls. 
The  climate  of  the  valleys  is  more  humid  and  perhaps  less  salu- 
brious than  that  of  Tucuman ;  but  the  Saltenos  likewise  boast 
that,  within  the  limits  of  their  state,  they  possess  the  vegetation 
of  all  zones.  While  one  department  yields  the  products  of  the 
tropics,  another  has  the  fruits  and  the  grains  of  a  temperate  re- 
gion ;  and  again,  there  are  districts  where  the  cold  is  intense,  and 
mountains  rise  to  the  height  of  perpetual  snow — districts  extra- 
ordinarily rich  in  mineral  treasures,*  and  abounding  in  many 
species  of  animal  life  particularly  useful  to  man,  such  as  the  ala- 
paca,  vicuna,  guanaco,  and  chinchilla.  This  state  has  also  vast 
Salinas,  from  which  the  salt,  hard  and  granulated,  is  cut  in  great 
blocks.  But  the  most  productive  mines  have  been,  and  still  are, 
its  pasture-lands,  watered  by  mountain  streams.  To  this  prov- 
ince, as  to  Santiago,  are  brought  vast  numbers  of  young  mules 
from  the  eastern  states,  to  be  fattened  for  the  Bolivian  and  Pe- 
ruvian markets — a  business  yielding  enormous  profits  where  pur- 
sued with  energy. 

The  capital  contains  about  ten  tho.usand  inhabitants,  and  is  situ- 
ated in  the  valley  through  which  we  had  traveled  for  four  days 
(Chiguano),  which  extends  beyond  it  with  still  a  direction  north, 
and  a  scarce  perceptible  rise.  With  its  tile-roofed  and  stuccoed 
houses  of  two  stories  Salta  presents  very  much  the  appearance  of 
an  old  Spanish  city ;  but  it  is  by  no  means  in  a  state  of  dilapida- 
tion, for,  in  point  of  commercial  activity  and  enterprise,  notwith- 

*  Gold  is  said  to  be  abundant  in  the  elevated  districts  of  this  province  bordering 
on  Atacarma. 


414  TRADE  OF  SALTA. 

standing  its  remote  position,  it  is  ahead  of  all  other  towns  of  tlie 
Confederation  except  Eosario. 

The  opening  of  the  Salado  had  excited  here  even  more  enthu- 
siasm than  in  other  places,  and  so  well  satisfied  were  the  inhabit- 
ants of  the  advantages  to  arise  from  it,  that  before  I  left  an  asso- 
ciation was  formed  for  the  purchase  of  suitable  boats,  to  memo- 
rialize the  general  government  to  remove  all  obstructions  to  nav- 
igation, and  to  purchase  lands  at  suitable  points  on  the  river. 

Although  it  is  not  possible  to  bring  navigation  to  their  door, 
it  will  shorten  the  land  carriage  four  fifths,  compared  with  the 
present  transportation  to  Eosario,  reduce  the  round  trip  from 
eight  and  ten  months  to  two,  and  the  expenses  to  one  half  the 
present  rate.  It  will  enable  this  province  to  send  to  market  many 
valuable  articles,  such  as  hides  and  wool,  which  now,  from  their 
bulk,  form  no  part  of  her  exports,  and  will  also  induce  the  whole 
of  her  trade,  whether  of  imports  or  exports,  to  be  conducted 
through  the  ports  of  the  Confederation ;  whereas  now  the  chief 
portion  is  carried  on  through  Cobija.  The  time  consumed,  and 
the  expenses  of  trips  from  this  Pacific  port  are  less  than  from 
Eosario ;  and  English  goods  designed  for  these  interior  markets, 
by  way  of  the  west  coast,  are  put  up  in  bales  specially  adapted  to 
mule  carriage.  The  expenses  from  Cobija  are  $1  50  to  $2  00, 
from  Eosario  $2  00  to  $2  50  the  aroba.  The  load  of  each  mule  is 
generally  from  twelve  to  fourteen  arobas  (300  to  350  pounds) ; 
some  will  bear  eighteen  arobas.  Most  marvelous  accounts  were 
given  me  of  the  strength  and  power  of  endurance  of  these  little 
animals;  one  carried  a  piano  from  Cobija  to  Chuquisaca,  now 
Sucre;  another,  a  printing-press,  weighing  twenty-three  arobas, 
from  the  same  port  to  Salta. 

The  staple  export  of  this  province  is  leather ;  but  its  wool  will 
probably  be  much  in  demand  for  foreign  markets.  North,  bor- 
dering on  Jujuy,  where  the  country  is  undulating,  the  lomas, 
dry,  bare  of  trees,  and  covered  with  short  grass,  the  sheep  are 
of  extraordinary  size,  and  yield  a  wool  of  very  superior  qual- 
ity. I  ]3urchased  a  skin,  and  although  it  was  larger  than  any  I 
had  ever  before  seen,  with  a  fine  staple  six  inches  long,  I  was  told 
by  several  persons  that  it  was  an  indifferent  specimen,  that  the 
wool  was  usually  eight  inches  in  length,  and  that  an  ordinary 
sheep  would  yield  six  poimds  of  washed  wool,  and  frequently 
eight  or  ten  pounds,  the  price  of  which  for  home  consumption  is 
six  dollars  per  hundred. 


WOODS  AND  MINERALS.  415 

Among  tlie  varied  arboreal  treasures  of  this  state  may  be  named 
tlie  pacaray,  a  lofty,  noble  tree,  the  wood  of  which  is  said  to  be  in- 
destructible in  water,  and  yet  its  speciiic  gravity  is  scarcely  great- 
er than  that  of  our  white  pine.  The  lapacho,  urunday,  and  que- 
bracho also  abound ;  and  to  these  may  be  added  the  palo  boracho 
or  yachun,  which,  though  not  valuable  as  timber,  yields  a  material 
that  may  at  some  fature  day  enter  extensively  into  manufacturing 
enterprises.  This  tree  is  covered  with  large  silken  bolls,  in  ap- 
pearance very  like  the  cotton-boll,  but  quadruple  its  size.  I 
brought  home  some  and  a  table-cover  of  it,  which,  though  made 
by  hand  in  Bolivia,  will  give  a  fair  idea  of  the  fabrics  into  which 
this  material  could  be  converted.*  In  the  manufacture  of  hats  it 
will  doubtless  be  much  prized.  The  inner  bark  of  the  tree  has 
the  properties  and  answers  the  purpose  of  the  finest  quality  of 
soap.  Its  trunk  is  shaped  very  like  a  wine-pipe,  the  difference  in 
the  lesser  and  greater  diameter  being  much  greater  in  the  tree  than 
in  the  pipe. 

Wheat,  sugar-cane,  cotton,  tobacco,  etc.,  are  all  produce'd,  but 
only  for  home  consumption.  From  the  excessive  humidity  the 
wheat  is  indifferent  and  subject  to  pulvo  (rust). 

No  geological  survey  has  yet  been  made  of  the  mineral  districts 
of  the  state,  but  the  copper  ore  in  the  neighborhood  of  Oran  is 
known  to  be  abundant  and  rich.  The  opening  of  the  Salado  will, 
as  I  have  shown,  doubtless  benefit  Salta ;  but  its  direct  outlet  to 
the  Parana  is  by  the  Vermejo,f  when  the  President  of  Paraguay 
will  abandon  his  assumed  opposition  to  its  navigation. 

I  remamed  at  Salta  five  days,  but  the  weather  was  such  that 
neither  by  day  nor  night  could  observations  be  obtained. 

On  the  11th,  the  day  after  my  arrival,  I  called  upon  the  gover- 
nor, who,  being  ill,  regretted  much  that  he  could  not  offer  me  the 
hospitalities  of  the  government-house,  I  saw  much  of  Senora 
Zavalier,  at  whose  hospitable  residence  our  visits  were  made  pap 
ticularly  agreeable  by  the  frequent  reunion  of  a  large  and  inter- 
esting family  circle.  The  nieces  of  my  kind  entertainers,  the 
Messrs.  Pelacio,  played  most  charmingly  on  the  piano.  These 
young  girls  had  not  only  superb  voices,  but  sang  like  artists; 
and  yet  their  mother  told  me  that  the  only  ppportunities  of  mu- 

*  This  cover  is  now  in  the  possession  of  a  friend. 

t  By  a  letter  from  Bolivia  I  have  learned  that  a  company  has  been  formed  for 
the  navigation  of  the  Vermejo,  having  received  special  privileges  from  the  Argen- 
tine Government. 


416  EXILED  BOLIVIANS. 

sical  education  afforded  tliem  had  been  those  attainable  at  Salta 
and  Tucuman. 

I  have  several  times,  in  the  course  of  this  narrative,  alluded  to 
the  excessive  love  and  talent  for  dancing  common  to  all  classes  in 
La  Plata.  A  taste  for  music  must  likewise  be  a  characteristic ; 
for  not  only  had  each  town  its  well-trained  baud,  but  every  vil- 
lage and  posta  its  guitarist  or  harpist.  Yet  there  are  undoubted- 
ly fair  ladies  in  the  Confederation  who  neither  dance,  play,  nor 
sing,  by  inspiration.  My  son,  when  at  the  College  of  Concepcion 
del  Uruguay,  saw  one  of  the  belles  of  the  neighborhood,  at  an 
early  hour  of  the  morning,  practicing  the  dance,  under  the  direc- 
tion of  her  mother ;  and  the  instrumental  and  vocal  accomplish- 
ments of  the  ladies  of  Tucuman  and  Salta  were  such  as  could 
only  have  been  acquired  by  the  union  of  talent  and  hard  study. 
Neither  are  the  women  of  that  country  inactive  in  domestic  life. 
In  Paraguay,  as  in  the  states  of  the  Confederation,  the  wives  and 
daughters  of  the  richest  estancieros  seemed  to  occupy  themselves 
energetically  in  all  household  duties.  The  wealthy  proprietor  of 
the  sugar-plantation  which  I  visited  near  Tucuman  told  me  that 
during  the  busy  season  he  resided  entirely  in  the  country,  where 
his  two  daughters  alternately  passed  a  week  with  him  and  took 
charge  of  the  domestic  department,  and  on  the  occasion  of  my  vis- 
it, one  of  them,  a  handsome  girl,  with  unaffected  grace  handed  us 
the  mat^. 

Eesiding  in  Salta  were  several  distinguished  exiled  Bolivians, 
among  whom  was  General  Santa  Cruz,  who  had  for  some  years 
represented  his  country  at  the  French  court.  A  revolution  had 
occurred  during  his  absence,  and  President  Belzu  would  not  per- 
mit him  to  return  to  Bolivia,  but  had  again  offered  him  the  mis- 
sion to  France,  which  he  declined,  and  was  now  awaiting  the  op- 
portunity to  return  which  some  expected  political  changes  would 
offer.  I  also  again  met  here  Colonel  Hilarion  Ortiz,  one  of  the 
officers  who  had  descended  the  Paraguay  with  us.  Colonel  Ortiz 
seemed  to  remember  gratefully  this  little  act  of  kindness. 

Though  told  at  Tucuman  that  Bolivia  was  threatened  with  an- 
other revolution,  that  Linares*  was  upon  her  borders,  and  that  a  ' 
strong  party  favorable  to  him  was  merely  awaiting  the  oppor- 
tunity to  overthrow  those  in  power,  I  had,  even  up  to  the  pe- 
riod of  my  arrival  at  Salta,  indulged  the  hope  of  proceeding  to 
explore — ^by  descending — the  Kiver  Pilcomayo.     But  the  infor- 

*  This  gentleman  is  now  President  of  the  Republic. 


DEPARTURE  FROM  SALTA.  417 

mation  now  obtained  of  tlie  condition  of  tlie  country  induced  me 
to  abandon  this  intention.  To  liave  carried  out  my  views  suc- 
cessfully would  have  required  all  tbe  facilities  and  security  the 
government  could  afford ;  and  though  each  and  all  parties  might 
favor  a  design  which  would  confer  a  great  national  benefit,  I  knew 
well  the  difficulties  I  must  contend  with,  from  the  jealousies  of  op- 
posing factions,  and  the  distraction  of  an  actual  revolution. 

On  the  14th  of  November  I  again  turned  my  face  eastward  by 
the  Camino  Carril,  accompanied  for  some  miles  from  Salca  by 
several  of  its  citizens  and  Colonel  Ortiz.  Crossing  a  spur  of  the 
sierra,  which  forms  the  eastern  boundary  of  Chiguano,  we  passed 
into  another  pretty  valley  and  stopped  at  the  Posta  Sagmnilla, 
which  is  distant  three  leagues  from  the  capital. 

On  the  way  we  saw  a  large  tropa  of  burros  (asses),  some  stag- 
gering under  loads  of  sevil  bark,  others  with  fire- wood,  bf  which 
each  animal  carried  fifty  sticks  of  two  feet  by  about  three  inches, 
worth,  on  reaching  the  city,  twenty -five  cents  the  load. 

One  of  the  most  pleasing  interruptions  to  the  monotony  of  our 
return  journey  across  the  pampas  was  to  meet  vast  tropas  of  these 
animals  waddhng  along  under  loads  of  produce  or  merchandise, 
and  so  completely  enveloped  in  packs  that  nothing  but  heads  and 
legs  were  visible. 

By  a  rough  road  we  descended  into  another  pretty  valley,  and 
stopped  at  the  dirty  village  of  Cabo,  where  a  little  sugar  is  made 
in  the  most  primitive  manner;  and  from  the  sugar-cane  is  pro- 
duced a  pleasant  fermented  drink  called  guarapi.  The  surround- 
ing country  was  sparsely  cultivated,  but  clothed  with  a  luxuriant 
indigenous  vegetation. 

After  much  delay  in  obtaining  horses  we  started  at  sunset,  and 
by  8  o'clock  A.M.  had  made  our  stopping-place  for  the  night  at 
Simbola,  four  leagues  from  Cabo.  The  postas  of  Salta  are  the  most 
wretchedly  comfortless  places  that  can  be  imagined,  and  the  horses 
very  indifierent ;  for,  at  the  period  of  our  journey,  they  were  but 
little  used  save  for  the  transmission  of  the  mail.  Those  who  can 
afford  it — which  class  includes  all  who  travel — do  so  with  their 
own  horses,  servants,  and  cargaro  animals.  They  select  a  shady 
spot  for  the  noonday  meal  and  siesta,  and  stop  for  the  night  at  the 
pleasantest  place  they  can  find. 

The  ground  around  Simbola  was  so  broken  and  rocky  that  we 
could  with  difficulty  find  six  feet  of  level  upon  which  to  spread 

27 


418  MILK  A  POISON. 

our  blankets.     After  a  miserable  night,  started  for  Pasaje  (nine 
leagues),  wbicli  we  made  in  two  hours. 

November  16th.  Got  off  at  7  o'clock  and  crossed  the  Eiver  Pasa- 
je, which  courses  a  few  hundred  yards  from  a  posta  of  the  same 
name.  I  saw  this  river  at  low  water,  but  its  depth  was  from  two 
to  ihree  feet,  with  evidences  of  a  rise  when  swollen  of  over  twelve. 
The  road  lay  very  much  along  its  south  bank,  in  an  easterly  di- 
rection for  nine  leagues,  when  it  turned  more  directly  south,  and 
we  crossed  a  narrow  but  rapid  stream,  "  Las  Piedras,"  which  a 
little  beyond  this  empties  into  the  Pasaje. 

Learning  from  the  post-master  that  the  country  bordering  the 
upper  waters  of  the  Salado  was  populous  and  well  cultivated,  I 
sent  Mr.  Murdaugh  from  this  place,  with  directions  to  follow  the 
course  of  that  river  from  Miraflores — a  capilla  four  leagues  below 
Las  Piedras — to  the  Estancia  Taboado,*  and  to  rejoin  me  at  Sant- 
iago. 

November  17th.  From  th*e  Posta  las  Piedras  we  had  a  view — 
north  of  the  Pasaje — of  the  eastern  termination  of  the  sierra  whose 
spurs  and  valleys  we  had  been  passing  since  leaving  Salta :  from 
this  point  the  Pasaje  enters  the  pampas. 

The  mountains  were  here  behind  us,  and  for  some  leagues  our 
way  lay  through  a  level  country,  extensively  wooded  with  que- 
bracho Colorado  and  cevil.  There  was  no  undergrowth  in  these 
forests,  and  the  earth  was  clothed  with  the  freshest  young  turf. 
At  a  distance  of  five  leagues  we  made  Pueblito  Conchas,  a  little 
posta  on  the  north  side  of  a  stream  of  the  same  name.  In  this 
neighborhood  was  some  cultivation  of  sugar-cane  ;  and  in  the  vil- 
lage, to  my  astonishment,  a  large  tannery  in  course  of  erection  by 
an  enterprising  Frenchman.  I  wished  to  purchase  a  bottle  of 
cana ;  the  price  was  one  dollar  for  the  liquor  and  fifty  cents  for 
the  bottle,  from  which  I  judged  that  both  bottles  and  cana  were 
scarce  articles  in  this  district.  We  made  a  hearty  breakfast  on 
bread  and  milk,  the  latter  to  me  always  a  luxury,  and  in  La  Plata 
not  always  obtainable. 

In  these  pastoral  regions  nothing  astonished  me  more  than  the 
small  use  of  milk,  and  even  its  avoidance  in  the  preparation  of 
food.  Among  the  cattle  recaptured  by  the  soldiers  in  their  ex- 
pedition against  the  Indians  were  some  milch  cows;  but  in  all 
that  body  of  men — about  one  hundred  and.fifty — Murdaugh  and 
Cornelius  were  the  only  individuals,  besides  myself,  who  tasted 
*  It  will  be  remembered  that  our  little  boat  was  launched  at  this  estancia. 


AN  ESTANCIERO.  419 

milk.  Upon  one  occasion  I  told  a  lady  of  Santiago  that  peaches 
(they  are  excellent  in  the  neighborhood  of  that  city)  served  with 
cream  were  a  delicious  and  favorite  dessert  in  the  United  States. 
Had  I  assured  her  that  a  dish  of  rattlesnakes  was  with  our  peo- 
ple the  greatest  table  delicacy  possible,  her  countenance  could  not 
have  expressed  more  perfect  horror  and  astonishment  as  she  ex- 
claimed, '■'■  Senor  Comniandante^  no  es possible!  Es  venino  (It  is  not 
possible !  It  is  poison)."  My  pretty  young  friend  was  so  ear- 
nest that  I  laughed  heartily,  then  discussed  the  subject  with  all 
due  gravity,  and  the  fair  senorita  promised  me  that  at  the  next 
season  of  peaches  she  would  try  the  smallest  bit  of  one  with  cream. 

From  Conchas  to  Paso  Grande  the  country  was  level,  fertile, 
and  intersected  by  two  small  streams,  the  Mitan  and  Yatasto,  nei- 
ther of  which  reaches  the  Pasaje  except  during  the  rainy  season, 
which  had  now  set  in.  In  this  district  no  artificial  irrigation  is 
necessary  for  the  sugar-cane.  For  many  miles  the  road  lay  through 
a  magnificent  forest  of  cevil,  where  trees  of  great  size  and  unen- 
cumbered by  undergrowth  or  climbing  plants  were  growing  with 
all  the  regularity  and  symmetry  of  plantations.  The  ground  be- 
neath, as  far  as  the  eye  could  reach,  was  clothed  with  the  bright- 
est, freshest,  cleanest  turf,  upon  which  the  sun,  glancing  through 
the  dense  masses  of  foliage,  fell  in  golden  lines  and  many-tinted 
figures,  relieving  the  forest  from  all  gloom,  without  detracting  from 
its  imposing  grandeur. 

Before  leaving  the  last  posta  I  overtook  a  traveler  with  his 
servants  and  cargaro  mules.  From  his  appearance  and  the  style 
of  his  equipments  I  at  once  recognized  him  as  an  esiandero  (a 
country  gentleman).  As  if  moved  at  the  same  moment  by  the 
same  impulse — a  desire  to  join  company — he  quickened  his  pace 
and  I  slackened  mine,  until  we  were  side  by  side  ambling  along 
through  these  magnificent  natural  parks.  He  seemed  to  know 
who  I  was,  introduced  himself  as  Don  Martin  Gliemes,  and  invited 
me  to  stop  on  the  road  at  the  Yatasto  river,  and  join  him  in  an 
"  asado  of  coiderd'''  (roast  kid).  Sending  Cornelius  ahead  with  the 
postillion  to  Yerde,  the  next  posta,  to -get  his  breakfast  and  have 
fresh  horses  ready,  I  accepted  the  invitation.  Having  reached  the 
appointed  spot,  we  seated  ourselves  upon  the  grass  round  quite 
an  elaborate  repast,  consisting  of  a  well-cooked  asado,  cheese, 
bread,  and  dulces  fr(5m  the  stores  of  Don  Martin,  who  presided 
with  all  the  dignified  gravity  of  a  hidalgo  dispensing  the  hospital- 
ities of  an  ancestral  mansion.     This  gentleman  was  young,  hand- 


420 


THE  FIRST  STAGE-COACH. 


some,  and,  as  I  afterward  learned,  an  estanciero  of  very  large  pos- 
sessions. His  mode  of  traveling  illustrates  that  of  the  inhabitants 
generally.  At  Verde  I  parted  from  my  friend  of  an  hour,  and, 
finding  horses  ready,  mounted,  and  was  off  in  a  few  minutes. 


AN   ESTANCIERO. 


Two  leagues  from  this  crossed  the  Eosario,  a  small  stream,  show- 
ing unmistakable  marks  of  being  a  considerable  river  during  the 
rainy  season.  A  league  farther  on  was  the  pueblito  of  Eosario, 
consisting  of  a  few  scattering  houses,  a  plaza,  and  church ;  and 
three  leagues  beyond  this  was  the  estancia  of  my  friend  Don 
Martin  Giiemes.  At  eight  o'clock  we  reached  the  Posta  Arenal ; 
the  country  in  its  vicinity  sandy,  as  the  name  indicates.  A  few 
minutes  before  I  had  met  the  stage-coach  from  Tucuman  for  Salta, 
the  first  attempt  at  this  description  of  conveyance  as  yet  ever  made 
in  this  province,  all  travel  between  the  two  cities  having  hereto- 
fore been  made  on  horseback.  This  will  necessarily  lead  to  an- 
other innovation  and  improvement,  the  establishment  of  a  ferry- 
boat at  the  Pasaje,  for  during  the  season  of  high  water  the  river 
can  not  be  forded.  I  described  to  some  persons  at  Salta  the  means 
used  where  the  current  is  made  the  motive  power.  The  simplici- 
ty of  the  contrivance  seemed  to  please  them  much ;  a  ferry-boat 


EETUEN  TO  TUCUMAN.  421 

of  sucli  construction  will  probably  supersede  tbe  unsafe  bide  balsa, 
and  make  the  Pasaje  passable  at  all  seasons  of  the  year. 

After  an  excellent  supper  we  spread  blankets  and  saddle-gear 
on  the  young  grass,  and  though  spared  the  annoyance  of  musqui- 
toes  or  posta  vermin,  found  it  so  chilly  that  I  could  not  sleep ; 
for,  notwithstanding  the  intense  heat  of  the  day,  the  nights  were 
very  cool. 

November  18ih.  The  air  was  deliciously  fresh,  and  under  its  in- 
vigorating influence  we  were  astir  at  an  early  hour  of  the  morn- 
ing, and  dashing  at  full  speed  over  the  lomas.  Thence  we  passed 
into  a  pretty  green  valley  from  which  the  lands  rose  west,  with 
the  regularity  of  steps,  in  successive  eminences  to  the  sierra, 
while  a  detached  range  bounded  the  valley  east  for  a  distance  of 
six  miles.  Here  our  road  again  led  over  broken  lomas — to  the 
Posta  Tala,  the  point  of  junction  of  the  Camino  de  las  Cuestas 
and  El  Camino  Carril;  the  first  being  the  route  taken  on  our 
road  to  Salta,  From  this  point  we  made  directly  for  Tucuman, 
where  I  arrived  at  9  P.M.,  having  ridden  one  hundred  and  five 
miles  since  leaving  Arenal  in  the  morning.  The  distances  were 
generally  six  leagues,  but  twice  during  the  day  I  rode  from  posta 
to  posta,  eighteen  miles,  in  one  and  a  quarter  hours. 

I  had  imagined  that  I  was  beginning  to  like  the  wild  indepen- 
dence of  the  gaucho  life — grassy  bed,  saddle-gear  bedding,  cano- 
pied by  the  heavens — ^but  I  must  confess  that,  after  a  ride  of  the 
above  distance  for  two  successive  days,  most  thankfully  did  I  ap- 
preciate and  enjoy  all  the  comforts  of  Dr.  Priestly's  house,  and  most 
gratefally  do  I  recall  his  cordial  welcome. 

November  19ih.  At  an  early  hour  paid  my  respects  to  the  gov- 
ernor and  minister,  and  when  I  returned  to  the  doctor's  found 
that  several  citizens  had  already  called,  and  in  the  course  of  the 
morning  came  all  the  acquaintances  made  during  my  first  visit  to 
welcome  me  back. 

November  20th.  Eeceived  a  visit  from  the  governor  and  his 
minister.  I  had  been  advised  to  return  to  Santiago  through  the 
south  of  Tucuman,  a  district  watered  by  the  Dulce,  and  represent- 
ed to  me  as  not  only  beautiful  in  natural  scenery,  but  as  populous 
and  highly  cultivated,  and  was  told  that  if  I  would  adopt  this 
route  the  government  would  provide  me  with  horses  and  other 
facilities  for  travel  within  the  limit  of  its  own  province,  and  would 
also  arrange  for  them  with  that  of  Santiago.  The  governor  now 
expressed  his  regret  that  for  want  of  time  only  these  arrange- 


422  SANTIAGO. 

ments  liad  not  been  made,  and  gave  me  statistics  of  the  popula- 
tion, products,  and  a  rough  pen-sketch  of  the  rivers  and  mountain 
streams  that  empty  into  the  Dulce  within  the  limits  of  the  prov- 
ince. He  also  showed  me  a  chart  exhibiting  the  different  dis- 
tricts, which,  though  roughly  made,  gave  a  very  fair  idea  of  the 
physical  features  of  Tucuman. 

November  21st.  Yesterday  said  farewell  to  my  friends,  and  this 
morning,  for  the  last  time,  shook  the  hand  of  Dr.  Priestly,  feeling 
all  the  regret  of  parting  with  an  old  friend.  At  8  o'clock  A.M. 
we  dashed  off  from  Tucuman  at  the  rate  of  twelve  miles  an  hour, 
which  speed  we  maintained  from  posta  to  posta  throughout  the 
day.  At  sunset  we  had  made  one  hundred  and  five  miles,  and 
would  have  reached  Santiago,  only  thirty-five  miles  distant,  the 
same  evening  but  for  the  swollen  state  of  the  Dulce,  which  I 
should  have  been  compelled  to  cross  in  a  hide  balsa,  and  at  that 
hour  would  have  found  some  difficulty  in  getting  men  from  the 
opposite  side  to  ferry  me  over.  I  did  not  feel  fatigued,  which 
may  be  attributed  more  to  the  exceeding  purity  of  the  air  than  to 
the  easy  gait  of  the  horses,  and  could  have  made  the  whole  dis- 
tance between  the  two  cities,  one  hundred  and  forty  miles,  by  sun- 
down, had  I  left  Tucuman  at  an  earlier  hour  in  the  morning.  I 
was  told  that  this  ride  had  been  made  but  once  before,  and  then 
in  the  transmission  of  some  important  political  intelligence. 

November  21d.  The  horses  swam  over,  and  we  crossed  the  Dulce 
at  an  early  hour  in  the  one  boat  of  the  western  province — our  pic- 
nic yacht,  the  "  Animal  of  the  Salado^^ — the  little  craft  in  which 
we  had  toiled  so  many  days  in  descending  the  Salado  from  Estan- 
cia  Taboado.  It  had  been  brought  back  to  Santiago  from  Sandia 
Paso  on  a  carreta.  By  9  o'clock  I  was  once  more  at  the  govern- 
or's, where  I  was  received,  not  as  a  stranger,  but  with  the  cordial- 
ity and  confidence  of  a  member  of  the  family. 

On  the  25th  Mr.  Murdaugh  reached  Santiago,  having,  according 
to  my  instructions,  followed  the  course  of  the  Salado  from  Mira- 
flores  to  Estancia  Taboado.  He  thought  that  the  fall  of  the  land, 
the  consequent  rapidity  of  the  current,  and  many  sand-banks,  sim- 
ilar to  those  in  the  Dulce,  that  intersect  the  bed  of  the  Salado, 
would  impede  navigation  from  Miraflores  to  San  Miguel.  From 
San  Miguel  to  Taboado — where  it  will  be  remembered  my  ex- 
ploration of  the  river  commenced — there  was  less  current  and 
greater  width  than  below ;  the  stream  flowed  tranquilly  between 
high  and  well- wooded  banks ;  the  adjacent  country  being  level, 


HOSPITALITY  OF  THE  TEOPLE.  423 

tolerably  well  peopled,  and  cultivated  to  a  limited  extent;  the 
people  were  civil. 

It  thus  appears  that  from  Santa  Fe,  on  the  Parana,  to  San  Mi- 
guel, within  the  limits  of  Salta  (for  this  village  is  claimed  by  that 
province),  there  are  no  obstructions  to  the  navigation  of  the  Sa- 
lado  that  could  not  be  removed  by  manual  labor  at  a  small  ex- 
pense; and  where  the  impediments  are  greatest,  there  is  an  am- 
ple population  in  the  immediate  vicinity.  The  Santiaganians  of 
the  poorer  classes  are  more  civil,  as  well  as  more  industrious  than 
those  of  any  other  of  the  west  provinces ;  the  Tucumanos  resem- 
ble them ;  the  Saltenos  were  perhaps  less  gracious,  but  at  the  pos- 
tas  of  Cordova  the  manners  of  the  people  were  particularly  rough 
and  forbidding, 

Novemher  11th.  Last  night  we  attended  a  farewell  party  at  Senor 
Archibal's,  where  was  a  fine  gathering  of  senores  and  senoritas ; 
and  this  morning  at  an  early  hour  we  were  astir,  eastward  bound. 
A  number  of  inhabitants  called  to  see  us  off,  and  we  were  ac- 
companied to  the  river  by  the  governor  and  his  secretary.  The 
ladies  of  the  Taboado  family  had  not  been  unmindful  of  our  com- 
fort; a  large  bag  was  so  amply  filled  with  bread  and  other  arti- 
cles of  food  prepared  by  the  governor's  sister,  that  it  was  as  much 
as  Cornelius  could  carry  upon  his  ricado. 

I  can  not  too  often  bear  testimony  to  the  hospitality  that  char- 
acterizes all  classes  in  La  Plata.  Dread  of  exposing  the  pover- 
ty or  simple  arrangements  of  their  households  never  seemed  to 
check  a  kind  impulse.  At  a  ranch  where  a  hide  cot  was  the  best 
piece  of  furniture,  and  a  wooden  bowl  of  hominy  the  most  luxu- 
rious supper,  we  were  always  kindly  welcomed.  Our  reception 
in  all  the  cities  of  the  Argentine  Confederation,  the  notices  of  the 
press,  the  enthusiasm  of  the  men  and  women  in  anticipation  of 
benefit  to  their  country  from  a  development  of  its  river  system, 
were  most  grateful.  Those  few  days  of  recreation  repaid  me  for 
many  vexatious  disappointments  in  carrying  out  the  objects  of  the 
work  confided  to  me.  With  pleasure  do  I  recall  my  intercourse 
with  these  Spanish- American  friends,  and  physically  able  as  I  was 
to  endure  all  the  discomforts  of  an  explorer's  life,  most  refreshing 
did  I  find  the  comforts  of  their  city  homes. 

The  governor,  with  his  usual  forethought,  sent  a  messenger 
ahead  to  have  horses  ready  at  the  first  posta ;  and,  by  crossing  the 
Bulce  near  the  town  in  the  boat,  we  avoided  the  detention  and 
annoyance  of  any  other  mode  of  passing  over  the  now  swollen 


424  ^  NARROW  ESCAPE. 

stream.     We  followed  the  same  route  in  returning  that  I  had  be- 
fore made  between  the  two  capitals. 

It  was  the  season  of  harvest,  and  hear  the  close  of  the  day  we 
met  a  number  of  women,  among  them  many  a  pretty  dark-eyed 
girl  with  a  bundle  of  wheat  daintily  poised  upon  her  head.  As 
I  saw  these  women  tripping  along,  I  thought  of  some  Euth  from 
a  distant  province  who  had  "  kept  fast  by  the  maidens  of  Boaz  to 
glean  until  the  end  of  the  barley  harvest  and  of  wheat  harvest." 
As  soon  as  the  grain  is  ripe,  men,  women,  and  children  of  the  neigh- 
borhood unite  in  gathering  it  in,  and  their  compensation  is  the 
gleaning  of  the  fields.  The  laborers  probably  take  care  of  their 
own  supplies,  for  each  woman  whom  I  saw  carried  more  than  the 
"  ephah"  of  Ruth.  The  harvest  is  here,  as  in  all  countries,  a  sea- 
son of  rejoicing  and  plenty,  and  at  the  close  of  the  day's  work  ev- 
ery Boaz  feasts  his  laborers  upon  the  best  his  means  can  afford. 

Novemher  SOth.  Reached  Posta  Rosario  after  a  day's  ride  of 
ninety-six  miles.  Our  speed  was  generally  twelve  miles  an  hour, 
sometimes  greater.  In  the  course  of  the  morning  I  made  a  nar- 
row escape.  I  was  alone,  some  distance  ahead  of  my  party,  and 
when  at  a  full  gallop  observed  a  sudden  turn  in  the  road.  Aware 
of  the  danger — for  the  ground  was  wet  and  slippery — but  know- 
ing there  was  more  risk  in  suddenly  checking  the  horse,  I  dashed 
on.  It  was  too  much ;  the  animal  slipped  all  fours  at  the  same 
time,  coming  broadside  to  the  ground,  in  which  position  he  slid, 
with  the  impetus  of  the  fall,  twice  his  length,  and  caught  my  left 
leg  under  him ;  fortunately  it  was  protected  by  a  heavy  boot. 
While  the  beast  was  rising  I  attempted  to  get  off,  but  found  my- 
self a  prisoner,  with  the  left  foot  fast  jammed  in  the  stirrup-iron. 
The  horse,  fortunately,  was  well  broken ;  and,  fatigued  from  a  long 
gallop,  he  now  moved  off  at  a  slow  walk,  carrying  me  by  one  leg, 
while  with  the  other,  and  my  hands  as  a  "  drag,"  I  in  vain  tried 
to  "bring  him  up,"  singing  out  first  in  English,  then  in  Spanish, 
but  all  to  no  purpose.  Neither  would  the  drag  hold,  though  I 
made  deep  furrows  in  the  ground  with  my  fingers.  Mr.  Murdaugh 
and  the  postillion  coming  up,  dismounted,  and  stopped  his  headway. 
In  the  course  of  the  same  journey  I  met  with  a  somewhat  simi- 
lar adventure,  but  on  the  second  occasion  the  horse  merely  came 
to  the  ground  with  his  legs  doubled  under  him — a  movement  that 
did  not  much  disturb  me,  for  I  quietly  kept  my  seat,  gaucho 
style,  until  he  regained  his  feet.  The  horses  of  the  western  prov- 
inces are  almost  as  sure-footed  as  mules,  and  never  trip ;  but,  from 


UNCOMFORTABLE  QUARTERS.  425 

not  being  shod,  they  sometimes  fall  during  the  rainy  season  when 
the  roads  are  wet  and  slippery. 

December  1st.  At  the  first  posta  of  Cordova,  even  if  ignorant  of 
the  fact  of  having  passed  the  dividing  line,  we  should  have  been 
reminded  of  it  by  the  uncivil  manners  of  the  people,  who  are  so 

unlike  the  simple  Santiaganians.    We  did  not  reach last 

night  until  nine  o'clock,  but  neither  supper  nor  accommodation 
for  sleeping  awaited  us,  for  the  family,  who  filled  the  ranch  to  its 
utmost  capacity,  had  retired,  and  would  not  be  disturbed  in  their 
rest.  In  the  centre  of  what  once  might  have  been  a  dwelling,  but 
which  now  served  as  a  stable,  kitchen,  and  hen-roost,  we  kindled 
a  fire  and  prepared  our  mate,  after  which  we  spread  blankets  on 
hide  cots  placed  without  under  a  tree,  and  lay  down  with  the  hope 
of  enjoying  a  sleep  undisturbed  by  rain  or  vermin ;  but  the  first 
came  in  such  torrents  that  we  were  obliged  to  retreat  to  the  hovel. 
We  soon  became  aware  that  during  bad  weather  it  was  the  resort 
of  divers  animals ;  for  by  the  time  we  lay  down  a  second  time 
in  rushed  a  flock  of  sheep,  leaping  over  and  upon  us  as  we  lay 
concealed  in  the  darkness,  producing  instantaneously  a  scene  lu- 
dicrous, but  very  annoying  at  the  time  to  tired,  sleepy  travelers. 
One  half  the  flock  had  made  sure  their  passage  over  us  before 
they  could  be  arrested.  We  were  now  between  two  fires.  What 
with  the  bleating  of  those  without,  responded  to  by  those  with- 
in, there  was  a  serenade  that  defied  all  sleep.  We  succeeded  in 
dislodging  the  inside  party  that  had  taken  position  in  the  rear, 
and  at  last  got  a  few  hours'  sleep  before  dawn  of  day,  when  the 
tramping  of  horses  announced  that  the  postillions  were  ready  for 
a  start. 

Early  on  the  20th  of  December  we  reached  Cordova,  having 
made  the  distance — about  three  hundred  and  sixty  miles,  as  es- 
tablished by  the  postas — in  less  than  four  days. 

Our  reception  here  was  less  cordial  than  in  any  city  of  the  Con- 
federation— a  fact  which  seemed  to  stir  the  patriotic  feelings  of 
our  countryman.  Dr.  Hawling,  who  threatened  to  inform  the 
governor  of  our  being  stopped  and  fined  two  dollars  for  fast  rid- 
ing within  the  city  limits.  I  had  reined  in  my  horse  to  a  walk 
after  passing  the  first  suburb,  but  the  postillion,  perhaps  glad  to 
get  into  town,  or  anxious  to  show  off  his  riding  to  some  maiden 
of  the  place,  kept  up  the  same  pace  until  he  was  suddenly  stopped 
by  a  policeman.  I  paid  the  two  dollars,  assuring  the  ofiicial  that 
I  was  anxious  to  show  all  respect  to  the  laws  of  Cordova ;  and 


426  RETURN  TO  THE  PARANA. 

wliile  lie  was  endeavoring  to  work  up  a  fine  dramatic  rendition  of 
indignant  feeling  against  the  postillion,  I  ordered  the  lad  to  lead 
the  way  to  the  fonda. 

December  3d  Failed  in  hiring  horses  from  the  posta ;  but  with 
Dr.  Hawliug's  assistance  procured  them  from  a  private  source, 
and  started  for  Rosario  by  the  main  postal  route,  on  which  now 
runs  regularly  once  a  fortnight  a  diUgencia  (stage-coach).  To  look 
at  one  of  those  ponderous  unwieldy  structures,  we  could  well  im- 
agine it,  unoccupied,  a  good  load  for  four  horses,  but  it  is  often 
crowded  and  invariably  moves  at  the  rate  of  forty  and  forty-five 
leagues  per  day,  changing  horses  every  four  leagues. 

The  characteristics  of  pampa  scenery  are  very  unvarying ; 
therefore  I  give  but  a  few  quotations  from  my  journal  of  the 
return  to  the  Parana,  though  our  route  was  very  distant  from 
the  one  followed  in  reaching  the  western  provinces. 

"  Eight  leagues  from  Cordova  crossed  the  Segundo  by  fording, 
where  it  was  two  feet  deep.  This  stream,  which  courses  due  east 
and  west,  is  one  of  the  rivers  lost  in  the  pampas.  Our  road  lay 
very  much  along  the  route  surveyed  by  our  countryman,  Mr. 
Campbell,  for  the  railway  between  Cordova  and  Rosario,  and  of 
which  he  says:  'Probably,  up  to  this  time,  there  has  not  been 
constructed  a  rail-road  of  equal  length,  about  two  hundred  and 
fifty  miles,  over  a  surface  so  level.'  We  had  scarcely  fixed  our- 
selves for  the  night  at  Disgraciada,  after  a  travel  of  nineteen 
leagues  since  9  A.M.,  when  a  crowded  galera,  from  Rosario  for 
Santiago  and  Tucuman,  arrived.  Soon  every  square  inch  of  the 
quarto  was  filled  with  these  passengers  and  their  baggage,  which 
embraced. an  amount  and  variety  of  articles  inconceivable:  mat- 
tresses, bedding,  pillows,  boots,  hats,  boxes,  and  baskets  of  eatables 
and  drinkables  were  strewed  about  in  every  direction,  without 
and  within  the  house.  The  travelers  on  this  occasion  were  all 
men,  and,  hearing  that  we  came  directly  from  their  respective 
cities,  were  eager  for  a  talk  about  home.  These  galeras,  when 
under  way  for  a  journey  across  the  pampas,  with  their  four  and 
six  horses,  each  mounted  by  a  gaucho-rigged  postillion,  and  dash- 
ing at  half  speed  over  a  plain  bounded  only  by  the  horizon,  pre- 
sent a  spectacle  as  interesting  as  novel. 

"  Decemher  4:th.  Detained  until  nearly  the  middle  of  the  day  by 
a  pouring  rain.  At  last,  after  a  miserable  breakfast  on  a  poor 
coidero,  we  were  off  on  fine  horses  and  with  a  prospect  of  better 
weather.     Country  open ;  pampa  grass  abundant.     At  Tio  Puijo 


FACE  OF  THE  COUNTRY.  427 

met  tlie  diligencia,  two  days  from  Rosario,  it  having  made  yester- 
day, the  3d,  forty-six  leagues.  Preparation  for  our  comfort  was 
suspended  by  the  arrival  of  this  public  conveyance,  to  which  all 
things  must  give  way  at  the  stopping-places.  It  draws  up,  not  at 
the  door  of  the  posta,  but  at  the  corral,  where  in  a  minute  four  or 
six  panting  animals  are  detached,  and  others  fresh  from  the  corral 
are  put  in  their  places.  The  postillion,  without  even  touching 
stirrup,  springs  into  the  saddle,  rolls  his  tongue,  casts  impudent  but 
gleeful  glances  at  the  people  standing  near,  and  dashes  off  at  half 
speed.  After  the  coach  was  off  we  were  famished  with  excellent 
horses,  which  carried  us  at  the  usual  rate — a  full  gallop — to  Villa 
Nueva,  five  leagues.  Just  before  reaching  this  place  we  crossed 
the  Tercero,  which  was  here  three  hundred  yards  wide ;  water 
low,  two  or  three  feet  deep ;  current,  at  this  season,  one  and  a 
half  miles  the  hour.  Sjoent  the  night  at  this  posta,  the  best  we 
had  seen  in  the  country.  Master  and  family,  kind  and  accom- 
modating, furnished  us  with  an  excellent  supper  and  abundance 
of  delicious  milk. 

"  December  bth.  At  sunrise  on  the  road  to  Herradura,  which  is 
on  the  south  side  of  the  Tercero — four  leagues.  Some  little  cul- 
tivation of  wheat ;  but  here,  as  in  Tucuman,  it  is  subject  to  the 
pulvo.  'Met  a  tropa  of  sixty  carretas  from  Rosario  for  Cordova. 
At  the  little  village  of  Ballesteras,  twelve  miles  from  Herradura, 
the  post-road  for  Mendoza  branches  off;  and  nine  leagues  beyond 
we  passed  through  the  little  pueblo  Fraile  Muerto,  situated  near 
the  river.  The  inhabitants  of  this  village,  as  well  as  many  Cor- 
dovases,  believe  the  Tercero  navigable  from  Rosario  to  this  point, 
but  no  effort  has  been  made  to  establish  the  fact.*  It  .could  un- 
doubtedly be  descended  by  flat  boats.  At  the  posta  we  met  a 
tropa  of  mules  from  the  Province  of  San  Juan,  bound  to  Rosario, 
laden  with  flour,  dried  and  preserved  fruits,  peaches,  figs,  raisins. 
It  made  ten  leagues  per  day,  each  little  animal  having  a  burden 
of  from  fourteen  to  seventeen  arobas.  To  Saladillo — eight  leagues 
— a  desolate  dilapidated  village  of  mud  houses,  the  banks  of  the 
Tercero  were  sparsely  wooded  with  algorroba,  with  long  intervals 
of  a  scrubby  growth  which  marked  its  windings.  This  place  is 
surrounded  by  a  mud  wall  and  ditch,  intended  in  years  past  as  a 
protection  against  Indians.  The  savages,  however,  no  longer 
make  incursions  into  this  district,  for  neither  village  nor  surround- 

*  I  have  already  stated  the  grounds  on  which  Mr.  Campbell  based  an  opinion 
that  it  is  inipiucticable. 


428  INHOSPITALITY. 

ing  country  now  offer  any  plunder.  It  is  situated  one  mile  from 
tlie  Eiver  Quarto,  here  called  the  Arroyo  Saladillo,  and  at  this 
time  so  much  swollen  that  the  postillions  were  obliged  to  carry 
the  saddle-bags  with  the  instruments  on  their  heads,  while  they 
swam  their  horses  over.  Mounted  on  an  animal  tall  enough  to 
wade,  I  knelt  on  the  saddle  by  way  of  keeping  dry,  and  plunged 
in,  expecting  to  be  pitched  head  foremost  at  every  step.  How- 
ever, much  to  our  astonishment,  we  reached  the  opposite  side 
without  accident  or  other  inconvenience  than  wet  knees;  but 
I  was  excessively  provoked  that  the  master  of  the  neighboring 
posta  had  not  notified  us  of  the  state  of  the  river,  which  would 
have  saved  detention  and  confusion.  It  was  quite  dark  by  the 
time  we  were  under  way  for  Lobaton,  distant  five  leagues.  Fol- 
lowing the  lead  of  the  postillion  we  made  it  at  a  gallop,  and  ar- 
rived safely,  but,  as  may  be  well  imagined,  hungry  and  tired ; 
for,  from  an  early  hour  in  the  morning,  with  no  refreshment  but 
a  cup  of  coffee  and  a  little  bread,  we  had  ridden  one  hundred  and 
five  miles.  On  dismounting,  guided  by  a  dim  light  and  the  sound 
of  a  guitar,  we  made  our  way  to  a  part  of  the  yard  where,  around 
a  fire,  over  which  was  placed  an  earthen  vessel  filled  with  corn, 
was  seated  a  party  of  men  and  women,  dexterously  catching  the 
toasted  grains  as  they  popped  out,  while  a  gaucho  musician  kept 
up  an  active  accompaniment  upon  his  cracked  half-stringed  in- 
strument. Our  entrance  did  not  at  all  disturb  the  party,  for  all 
were  intently  watching  the  corn.  I  asked  for  something  to  eat, 
and  received  an  ungracious  answer,  delivered  with  a  still  more 
ungracious  manner.  '  There  was  nothing  to  eat,  and  if  there  was, 
there  was  no  wood  to  make  a  fire.'  Unable  to  make  an  impres- 
sion, and  apprehending  rain  during  the  night,  we  spread  our  blank- 
ets in  the  hovel ;  and  to  the  gnawings  of  hunger  were  added  the 
torments  of  musquitoes  and  fleas. 

^'■Decemher  6th.  At  dawn  astir,  in  bad  humor  and  bad  plight  for 
horseback  travel,  but  in  a  heavy  rain  rode  on,  five  leagues,  to  Ca- 
beza  del  Tigre,  where  we  found  in  the  domicil  of  the  post-master 
a  kindly  disposition  to  meet  the  wants  of  travelers.  "We  had  an 
excellent  breakfast,  with  coffee  and  milk.  As  it  was  raining  hard, 
with  a  prospect  of  continuance,  I  determined  to  remain  in  our 
snug  quarters  until  the  following  day.  Met  at  this  place  a  tropa 
of  mules  laden  with  merchandise  from  Eosario  bound  to  San 
Juan. 

"  December  7th.  Left  Cabeza  del  Tigre  at  an  early  hour,  in  a 


EETUKN  TO  ROSAKIO.  429 

slight  mist,  and  four  leagues  beyond,  at  the  little  mud  village  of 
Cruz  Alta  we  reached  the  last  posta  in  Cordova  going  east,  or  the 
first  west  from  Eosario,  the  line  of  division  between  the  two  prov- 
inces, Cordova  and  Santa  Fe,  passing  between  this  and  Esquina 
Grande  a  mud  village  four  leagues  east.  Up  to  this  point  the 
road  follows  very  much  the  course  of  the  Tercero,  all  the  postas 
bemg  upon  or  near  its  south  bank.  From  Cruz  Alta  the  river, 
having  a  previous  direction  southeast,  takes  a  course  of  north- 
east, under  the  name  of  Cacaranal,  to  its  junction  with  the  Para- 
na. Its  banks,  which  we  have  followed  during  the  last  two  days, 
are  as  clear  of  wood  as  the  adjacent  pampa,  where  scarce  a  tree  is 
to  be  seen,  except  a  few  planted  for  shade.  After  the  superb 
forests  of  the  western  provinces  these  looked  but  the  shadows  of 
trees.  At  our  next  stopping-place,  Arequita— five  leagues — found 
civil  people,  who  gave  us  a  good  asado ;  but  again,  four  leagues 
farther  on,  at  Desmochedo,  met  with  but  a  rude  reception — noth- 
ing to  eat,  not  even  a  little  hot  water  for  mate  procurable.  The 
country  between  the  last  places  was  undulating,  uncultivated,  and 
bare  of  trees,  but  clothed  with  luxuriant  grass.  To  Candelaria — 
six  leagues — ^face  of  the  comitry  unchanged.  At  this  place,  where 
the  people  were  civil,  we  procured  hot  water  for  mate.  At  Cor- 
rea — five  leagues — found  a  good  two-story  brick  house,  and  its 
owner  largely  engaged  in  raising  sheep  for  the  wool. 

It  was  sunset  when  we  started  from  El  Estado  for  Eosario,  and 
it  soon  became  excessively  dark,  but  at  a  full  gallop  we  followed 
with  confidence  the  lead  of  the  postillion,  until  suddenly  that  in- 
dividual and  his  steed  lay  broadside  on  the  pamj^a,  at  some  dis- 
tance from  each  other — a  manoeuvre  I  did  not  exactly  care  to  fol- 
low. No  damage  ensued ;  the  postillion  was  soon  mounted  again, 
off  we  dashed  at  the  same  rate,  and  reached  Eosario  at  9  P.M.  all 
safe,  after  a  day's  ride,  from  Cabeza  del  Tigre,  of  one  hundred  and 
five  miles.  The  fonda  was  crowded,  and  after  supper  we  gladly 
accepted  the  hospitality  of  Mr.  Dale,  the  British  consul. 

The  growth  of  Eosario  and  the  rapid  increase  of  its  population 
and  trade  in  three  years  are  unprecedented  in  the  history  of 
Spanish- American  cities.  I  have  in  a  previous  chapter  alluded 
to  its  many  advantages  as  a  port  of  entry ;  I  now  refer  to  it  as  an 
important  point  for  the  residence  of  a  consul ;  for  we  should  not 
wait  for  trade  before  appointing  such  an  ofiicer,  but  should  place 
one  there  to  secure  commercial  advantages  for  our  people.  A 
British  consul  was  placed  there  at  the  earliest  moment. 


430  RECALL  TO  THE  UNITED  STATES. 

In  a  few  days  a  conveyance  by  steamer  offered  to  Buenos 
Ay  res,  where  I  arrived  on  the  12th  of  December.  As  the  Water 
Witch  was  still  undergoing  repairs  to  her  engines,  which  would 
occasion  a  detention  of  some  weeks,  I  proceeded  in  the  steamer  off 
San  Isidro,  and,  with  the  two  cutters  and  a  large  sail-boat  hired 
for  the  purpose,  sounded  out  the  channel-way,  from  the  inner  an- 
chorage to  the  Arroyo  Capitan,  also  the  entrance  to  the  Palma 
-Pass.  I  found  a  depth  gradually  diminishing  from  twenty-four 
feet  within  the  Palmas  to  eight  off  its  entrance,  reduced  to  low 
water,  showing  that  vessels  of  six  feet  draught,  bound  up  the  Pa- 
rana, may  enter  the  pass  at  ordinary  low  water  without  appre- 
hension of  taking  the  bottom.  The  only 'difficulty  in  the  naviga- 
tion would  arise  from  the  want  of  discernible  objects  on  shore, 
the  land  being  so  low  near  the  mouth  of  the  river  as  to  be  indis- 
tinctly seen  at  the  distance  of  five  miles  from  the  deck  of  an  or- 
dinary ship. 

This  completed  the  work  assigned  me  by  my  instructions,  so 
far  as  the  means  at  my  disposal,  time,  and  the  occurrences  I  have 
related  would  allow.  I  leave  the  j)ublic  to  judge  of  the  embarrass- 
ments under  which  I  sometimes  acted.  There  were  many  others, 
as  well  as  manifold  labors  entirely  foreign  to  my  legitimate  duties, 
to  which  I  have  not  deemed  it  necessary  to  allude. 

On  the  2-ith  of  January,  1856,  with  caulked  decks,  boilers 
patched,  and  engines  mended,  the  steamer  descended  the  river  to 
Montevideo,  where  I  had  reason  to  suppose  a  letter  of  recall  await- 
ed me.     This  letter  read  thus  : 

"  Navy  Department,  December  20th,  1855. 
"  Sir, — The  Department  is  gratified  at  the  energy  displayed  by  you  in 
your  endeavors  to  accomplish  the  explorations  and  surveys  for  which  you 
were  sent  out,  in  the  midst  of  many  difficulties. 

"  I  am  of  opinion  that  the  public  interests  require  the  return  of  the  ex- 
pedition. You  will,  therefore,  so  soon  after  the  receipt  of  this  as  practi- 
cable, return  with  the  Water  Witch  to  the  United  States  and  to  the  port 
of  Washington. 

"  Very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 
"(Signed),  J.  C.  DOBBIN. 

"Commander  Thos.  J.  Page,  commanding  U.  S.  Steamer  ) 
Water  Witch,  Buenos  Ayres,  Rio  de  La  Plata."  > 

When  we  remember  merely  the  social  and  political  changes  of 
one  year,  we  may  imagine  what  anxieties  and  fears,  what  hope 
and  happiness  move  the  heart  of  the  sailor,  who  after  more  than 


EXTENT  OF  EXPLORATION.  4gl 

a  three  years'  cruise  in  foreign  waters,  at  last  hears  the  boatswain's 
call,  "  All  hands  up  anchor  for  home !" 

The  Water  Witch  was  detained  some  days  at  Montevideo  by  the 
necessity  of  additional  repairs  to  her  wheels,  and  it  was  not  until 
the  8d  February,  1856,  that  we  stood  out  of  the  harbor.  Pass- 
ing close  under  the  stern  of  the  sloop  of  war  Germantown,  we  re- 
ceived from  her  crew  three  hearty  cheers — the  sailor's  "  God-speed 
homeward,"  Captain  Lynch  was  on  shore,  but  I  recognized  the 
clear,  shrill  voice  of  the  first  lieutenant,  who  wished  us  "  a  pleasant 
passage  and  a  happy  meeting  with  friends."  It  was  my  old  friend 
and  shipmate  Eidgely. 

Homeward  bound !  Once  more  the  little  craft  was  puffing  free 
over  old  ocean :  she  had  done  good  service  in  a  foreign  clime,  and 
was  now  to  bear  to  their  native  shore  the  crew  of  stout  ready 
hearts  that  had  stood  by  her  from  the  beginning  to  the  end. 

After  an  absence  of  three  years  and  four  months  she  came  to 
anchor,  on  the  8th  of  May,  1856,  at  the  Washington  Navy  Yard, 
the  place  of  her  original  construction. 


CHAPTER  XXV. 


Extent  of  Exploration. — Depth  of  Water  in  the  Paraguay. — Sources  of  that  River. 
— Junction  with  the  Parana. — The  Parana  River. — Tributaries  of  the  Paraguay. 
— The  Confuse  and  Otuquis. — Expeditions  up  and  down  the  Pileomayo. — North- 
ern and  Southern  Branch. — Little  Success  at  its  Navigation. — The  Vermejo. — 
Its  Navigability  confirmed. — The  Salado. — "River  Bottom." — Falls  of  Apipe. 
— The  Gran  Salto. — The  River  above. — Islands  and  Rapids. — The  Uruguay. — 
The  Salto  Grande. — Beauty  of  adjacent  Country. — La  Plata. — Its  Mouth  at  the 
Capes. — Structure  of  the  Parana  Banks. — Tosca. — Rock  Formation  on  the  Par- 
aguay.— Entrance  to  a  Mountain  Region. — The  Great  Gulf. — Birth  of  Rivers. 
— Callera  de  An-iola. — Retirement  of  the  Sea. — Fossil  Remains  and  Estuary 
Mud. — Diluvial  and  Alluvial  Periods. — Encroachments  of  Land  and  Water. — 
Harbor  of  Buenos  Ayres. — Fertility  of  Soil. — Fruits  and  Vegetation. — Medic- 
inal Plants  and  Woods. — Climate. — Navigation  of  the  Rivers. — Letter  from  th  ; 
Governor  of  Santiago. — Exclusive  Privileges  granted  to  Companies. — Suitable 
Vessels. — Paraguay. — Products  and  Advantages  for  Trade. — Interests  of  Boli- 
via.— Immigration. — Brossard. — Thiers  and  Guizot  upon  the  Country  of  La  Pla- 
ta.— What  foreign  Governments  have  done. — What  our  Policy  should  be. 

With  my  map  and  charts  I  present  to  the  public,  if  not  an  in- 
teresting, at  least  an  unexaggerated  account  of  my  exploration  of 
countries  bordering  the  fluvial  avenues  that  intersect  the  basin  of 
La  Plata. 

We  ascended  from  Buenos  Ayres — the  initial  jDoint  of  our  work 


432  THE  PARAGUAY. 

—to  Corumba,  in  latitude  18°  59'  4.S"  south,  longitude  57°  44'  36" 
west,  to  which,  jjlace  the  exploration  of  the  Paraguay  was  at  this 
time  limited  by  the  Brazilian  Government.*  That  settlement  is 
in  a  right  line  about  one  thousand  miles  from  Buenos  Ayres,  and 
by  the  course  of  the  rivers  two  thousand  from  the  ocean.  The 
first  half  of  this  distance  was  ascended  at  the  season  of  low  water 
in  the  Parana  without  encountering  shoals,  rocks,  or  any  obstacle 
to  a  continuous  navigation,  in  an  ocean  steamer  of  nine  feet 
draught. 

In  the  Paraguay  the  depth  of  water  was  at  that  time  not  less 
than  twelve  feet,  and,  according  to  our  register  kept  at  Asuncion, 
at  no  season  less  than  five.  These  rivers,  augmented  in  volume 
of  water  above  their  junction  by  a  wonderful  ramification  of  nav- 
igable streams,  form  the  central  water-courses  of  La  Plata. 

From  three  small  lakes  in  the  northwestern  mountains  of  Bra- 
zil, between  the  parallels  of  13°  and  14°,  the  Payaguas  Eiver — a 
name  euphonized  to  Paraguay  by  the  Spanish  conquerors — is 
supposed  to  have  its  source.  These  mountains,  which  almost 
meet  the  last  spurs  of  the  Peruvian  ranges,  are  likewise  the  wa- 
ter-sheds of  several  streams  that  swell  the  great  tributaries  of  the 
Amazon ;  and,  according  to  a  generally  received  opinion,  a  short 
portage  alone  intervenes  between  the  navigable  head  waters  of 
these  rivers.  Flowing  generally  south,  the  Paraguay,  in  latitude 
27°  17'  32,"  longitude  58°  39'  32,"  forms  its  junction  with  the 
Parana,  which  also  rises  in  the  northwestern  mountains  of  Brazil, 
between  the  parallels  of  17°  30'  and  18°  30'.  Coursing  first  west, 
then  south,  its  waters  continually  increased  by  the  outpourings 
of  many  large  streams,  the  Parana  is  a  mighty  river,  one  and  a 
quarter  miles  wide  when  it  enters  Ifisswnes  (a  country  so  called 
from  having  been  the  seat  of  the  first  Jesuit  missions),  from  whence 
it  rolls  again  westward  to  the  point  at  which  it  commingles  its 
waters  with  the  Paraguay.  The  two  rivers  made  one,  under  the 
name  of  Parana,  flow  on  to  La  Plata,  or  Parana  Guazu  (Great  Pa- 
rana), as  it  is  still  called  by  the  Indians. 

In  ascending  the  Paraguay,  while  tributaries  from  the  east  are 
constantly  recurring,  there  are  comparatively  few  from  the  west. 
From  the  Confuso,  in  latitude  25°  8',  to  the  latitude  of  19°,  a  dis- 
tance by  the  river  of  six  hundred  and  fifty  miles,'  there  is  but  one 
affluent  from  the  west,  the  Otuquis,  or  Bahia  Negra.     Between  the 

*  Subsequently  permission  was  granted  to  extend  the  exploration  into  all  the 
Brazilian  tributaries  of  the  Paraguay. 


THE  PILCOMAYO.  433 

Confiiso  and  its  junction  with  the  Parana  the  Paraguay  receives 
the  waters  of  two  considerable  rivers — the  Pilcomayo  and  Ver- 
mejo — the  former  in  latitude  25°  16',  the  latter  in  26°  52  'south. 

The  Otuquis,  which  is  considered  the  northern  limit  of  the  Cha- 
00,  rises  in  the  Sierras  de  Santiago,  in  the  Province  of  Chiquitos, 
and  coursing  through  Bahia  Negra,  empties  into  the  Paraguay  in 
latitude  20°  10'  south,  longitude  58°  17'  west.  Of  the  practica- 
bility of  its  navigation  I  have  not  a  doubt ;  and  when  established, 
it  will  open  a  channel  of  communication  with  Chiquitos,  a  region 
of  Bolivia,  far  removed  from  that  watered  by  the  Pilcomayo,  but 
equally  rich  in  products. 

Of  the  Pilcomayo  I  can  give  no  information  derived  from  my 
own  knowledge.  Circumstances  that  have"  been  related  closed 
this  river  to  the  expedition ;  all  that  we  know  of  it,  therefore,  is 
derived  from  several  abortive  attempts  at  its  exploration:  the 
first,  by  Father  Patino,  in  1721 ;  the  second,  by  Casales,  in  1735, 
who  gives  but  a  vague  account  of  his  attempt  to  ascend  through 
what  he  terms  the  southern  channel,  the  northern  one  being  pro- 
nounced by  him  impracticable ;  the  third,  by  Castanares,  in  1741 ; 
and  a  fourth  by  Colonel  Magarinos  and  a  Mr.  Thompson,  said  to 
have  been  an  American. 

This  latter  was  an  attempt  to  descend  the  river  in  1844  under 
the  auspices  of  the  Bolivian  Government,  General  Bolivian  being 
President ;  but  it  was  likewise  unsuccessful.  Azara,  who,  so  far 
as  he  goes,  gives  the  most  reliable  account,  ascended  this  river 
through  the  northern  branch  about  forty  miles,  according  to  his 
estimate  of  the  distance,  when. he  returned  under  the  apprehension 
that  he  could  not  reach  Potosi,  the  point  aimed  at,  although  the 
least  water  given  by  him  in  the  month  of  August  was  six  feet. 
His  difficulties  seem  to  have  arisen  from  the  strength  of  the  cur- 
rent ;  but,  like  other  explorers,  he  was  illy  provided  with  suitable 
means. 

The  Pilcomayo  has  its  source  in  a  spur  of  the  Cordillera  de  los 
Andes,  northwest  of  Potosi  in  Bolivia,  and  after  receiving  the 
Cachimayo,  which  rises  within  a  short  distance  of  Chuquisaca,  is 
joined  by  the  Pilaya  from  the  southwest.  This  latter,  fed  by 
numerous  tributaries,  greatly  augments  the  volume  of  the  Pilco- 
mayo, which,  at  a  short  distance  from  this  junction,  enters  the 
Gran  Chaco,  and  flowing  under  the  general  direction  of  southeast, 
empties  into  the  Paraguay  at  Asuncion.  The  only  attempts  at 
navigation  upon  this  stream  which  seemed  to  promise  success,  are 

28 


434  THE  VERMEJO  AND  SALADO. 

stated  to  liave  been  made  through,  the  branch  at  or  near  Asun- 
cion. Oar  chart  does  not  lay  down  the  supposed  southern  mouth, 
because  we  discovered  no  evidence  of  its  existence  near  the  lo- 
cahty  assigned  it.  Inasmuch,  however,  as  it  may  discharge  it- 
self into  some  one  of  the  numerous  riachos,  and  thus  be  concealed 
from  view  to  one  ascending  the  Paraguay,  I  would  not  pronounce 
upon  its  non-existence. 

The  efforts  that  have  been  made  to  determine  the  navigability 
of  the  Pilcomayo  seemed  to  have  failed — so  far  as  we  are  able  to 
judge  from  the  vague  accounts  given  of  them — more  in  conse- 
quence of  the  want  of  proper  boats  and  provision  for  such  an  un- 
dertaking than  from  the  opposition  of  the  Indians  or  insurmounta- 
ble obstacles  in  the  river.  The  chief  embarrassment  seems  to  be  in 
the  western  portion  of  the  Chaco,  where  the  channel  is  reported  as 
losing  itself  in  a  vast  laguna,  offering  no  direct  or  navigable  course. 

The  Vermejo  flows  from  the  northwestern  provinces  of  the 
Argentine  Confederation,  and  notwithstanding  the  comparatively 
short  distance  through  which  I  ascended  it  in  a  steamer  of  twenty- 
six  inches  draught,  and  at  the  season  of  low  water,  the  point  reach- 
ed, according  to  my  determination,  is  above  the  position  given 
the  most  difficult  passes  by  Comejo  and  Loria.  The  last  descent 
of  it,  made  in  the  corresponding  month  of  the  succeeding  year  by 
Mr,  Hickman,  an  enterprising  citizen  of  the  United  States,  then 
a  resident  of  Buenos  Ayres,  in  a  boat  of  three  to  four  feet  draught, 
confirms  my  opinion  of  its  navigability. 

The  Salado  rises  in  the  western  Cordilleras  of  the  Province  of 
Salta,  and  after  a  very  tortuous  course,  under  the  general  direc- 
tion of  southeast,  empties  into  the  Parana  at  Sante  Fe,  latitude 
31°  38'  34"  south,  longitude  60°  89'  48''  west. 

We  ascertained  and  established  the  navigability  of  this  river 
for  a  distance  of  eight  hundred  miles,  and  exhibited  upon  it  the 
great  lever  of  modern  civilization,  steam.  It  flows  through  a 
country  imequaled  for  pastoral  and  agricultural  purposes,  and 
brings  into  communication  with  the  Atlantic  some  of  the  richest 
and  most  populous  provinces — Santiago  del  Estero,  Tucuman, 
Salta,  Jujuy,  etc. — whose  products  have  heretofore  been  convey- 
ed to  the  port  of  Eosario  by  ox- wagons,  occupying  a  period  often 
months  to  go  and  return ;  but  which  can  now,  by  boats,  reach 
the  same  port  in  fifteen  days,  and  a  return  cargo  of  merchandise 
be  made  in  twenty -five. 

Even  the  Indians,  who  have  heretofore  made  hostile  descents 


THE  PARANA.  435 

upon  the  few  settlements  along  its  banks,  may  be  made,  by  kind 
and  judicious  treatment,  powerful  agents  in  developing  the  re- 
sources of  the  country.* 

Immediately  adjacent  to  the  river  extends,  from  one  to  about 
five  miles  in  width,  a  "  river  bottom"  well  wooded  and  densely 
covered  with  grass,  from  which  the  more  elevated  land,  skirted 
with  timber  of  superior  quality,  rises  gradually  to  a  level  with 
the  surrounding  pampa.  The  wood  on  this  bottom  is  of  excel- 
lent quality  as  fuel  for  steamers,  and  may  be  had  in  great  abund- 
ance. In  its  green  state  we  experienced  no  difl6.culty  in  keeping 
up  the  requisite  quantity  of  steam. 

In  my  visit  to  the  western  districts  of  Paraguay  we  touched 
the  Parana  where  it  flowed  through  "  Missiones,"  but  my  exami- 
nation of  this  noble  river  extended  only  from  the  mouth  to  its 
junction  with  the  Paraguay.  From  all  the  information  arrived  at, 
though  unsatisfactory,  I  was  induced  to  beheve  that  its  navigation 
would  be  found  practicable  to  a  considerable  distance  above  Cor- 
rientes.  The  falls  of  Apipe,  situated  in  latitude  27°  27',  longi- 
tude 56°  west,  probably  offer  no  serious  obstruction  at  the  pe- 
riod of  high  water.f  Hence  for  several  hundred  miles  up  to  the 
Curitiba,  a  large  navigable  river,  its  course  is  represented  as  per- 
fectly free.  Above  this  point  begins  a  remarkable  series  of  falls 
and  cataracts,  which  extend  a  distance  of  one  hundred  miles  to 
the  Salto  Grrande.  Around  this  fall  the  Jesuits,  with  their  twelve 
thousand  converts  seeking  a  land  of  peace  from  the  inhuman  per- 
secutions of  their  Portuguese  foes,  effected  a  toilsome,  struggling 
descent,  in  which  many  of  their  numbers  perished.  Azara,  one  of 
the  few  fortunate  and  adventurous  travelers  who  have  ever  reach- 
ed this  Salto,  has  pictured  its  sublimity  in  enthusiastic  terms.  The 
river  suddenly  narrows  from  a  width  of  over  a  mile  to  less  than 
forty  yards,  pouring  its  solid  mass  of  waters  over  a  height  of  six- 
ty feet  into  a  rocky  basin.:j: 

From  what  we  glean  in  Jesuit  writings  the  river  above  this 
again  becomes  navigable,  at  least  to  the  Parana  Pane.  Very  lit- 
tle is  known  of  the  upper  waters  of  the  Parana ;  for  beyond  a  cer- 
tain point  even  the  track  of  the  intrepid  missionary  is  lost,  and 
this  great  water-course,  with  a  probable  navigation  of  at  least  two 

*  See  extract  from  letter  of  Governor  Taboado,  p.  444. 

t  In  my  narrative  I  have  given  in  detail  an  account  of  the  hostile  interference 
the  expedition  met  with  while  proceeding  to  examine  this  point. 
X  Azara,  vol.  i.,  p.  71,  72. 


436  TUE  UKUGUAY. 

thousand  five  hundred  miles,  flows  for  a  great  distance  in  undis- 
turbed possession  of  the  Indian. 

From  Missiones  begins  that  series  of  islands  which  thence  char- 
acterize this  river  to  its  mouth.  Some  of  these  are  small,  others 
embrace  many  square  leagues ;  some  are  low,  of  recent  formation, 
and  frequently  submerged ;  others  are  high,  well  wooded,  and  add 
much  to  the  beauty  of  the  scenery. 

"  The  laws  which  govern  the  rise  and  fall  of  the  Parana  are  in- 
variable. Its  inundations,  like  those  of  the  Nile,  are  periodical, 
and  are  blessings  rather  than  causes  of  disquietude ;  for,  always 
expected  and  progressively  slow,  they  never  surprise  the  vigilance 
of  the  inhabitants,  and  decrease,  leaving  vegetation  not  only  un- 
harmed, but  improved  by  their  deposit."* 

The  Uruguay,  which  has  its  source  in  the  Sierra  Catalina,  lati- 
tude 27°  30',  is  also  increased  by  numerous  tributaries,  many  of 
which,  when  they  shall  have  been  explored,  may  prove  important 
streams.  It  flows  first  west  to  the  confines  of  the  "  Missiones," 
then  south,  and  disembogues  into  La  Plata  immediately  after  its 
junction  with  the  Parana  in  latitude  84°  south.  It  bounds  Entre 
Eios  and  Corrientes  on  the  east,  separates  those  two  provinces 
from  the  Banda  Oriental  and  Brazil,  and  is  navigable  at  all  times 
for  a  distance  of  two  hundred  and  fifty  miles  up  to  the  Sal  to 
Grande.  Here  is  a  ledge  of  rocks  stretching  across  the  river,  pre- 
senting more  the  character  of  rapids  than  of  a  fall,  as  its  name 
would  indicate.  For  a  very  short  time  in  the  year,  during  the 
month  of  October,  the  Uruguay  rises  to  the  height  of  from  fifteen 
to  twenty  feet,  forming  over  the  fall  a  raj)id  current,  but  of  suffi- 
cient depth  to  allow  of  its  ascent  under  an  extraordinary  steam 
pressure.  Beyond  the  "  Sal  to"  it  again  becomes  navigable  for 
small  vessels  of  five  feet  draught  to  the  distance  of  from  one  to 
two  hundred  miles.  When  the  population  of  the  country  above 
shall  have  increased  and  have  felt  the  want  of  water  transporta- 
tion, they  will  see  the  propriety  and  practicability  of  overcoming 
this  obstruction  by  means  of  locks. 

The  scenery  on  this  river,  especially  on  the  left  bank — the  Ban- 
da  Oriental — is  very  fine.  At  the  distance  of  one  hundred  miles 
above  its  mouth  the  country  on  the  right  bank — Entre  Eios — 
changes  from  the  flat  wooded  to  the  undulating  grassy,  with 
skirts  of  quebracho  and  palm  groves  here  and  there  fringing  its 
margin.    The  left  bank — the  Banda  Oriental — is  beautiful  through- 

*  Ygnaoio  Nunez. 


EIVER  BANKS.  437 

out.     The  land  is  higli  and  rolling,  with  wooded  ridges  and  grassy 
hill-sides,  gently  sloping  to  meadows  of  surpassing  verdure. 

Now  the  reservoir  of  many  streams,  equaling  in  its  mass  of  wa- 
ters all  the  rivers  of  Europe,  La  Plata,  at  the  narrowest  point 
twenty-five  miles  wide,  flows  on  majestically  until  it  commingles 
its  waters  with  those  of  the  ocean  between  the  Capes  of  Santa  Ma- 
ria and  San  Antonio,  the  hmits  generally  assigned  to  it  by  geog- 
raphers ;  for  though  it  attains  a  width  of  one  hundred  and  eighty 
miles  at  its  mouth,  and  has  very  much  the  appearance  of  an  estu- 
ary, it  also  retains  to  the  capes  many  of  the  characteristics  of  a 
river. 

I  have  named  but  a  few  of  the  principal  navigable  tributaries 
of  the  central  water-courses.  From  the  eastern  slopes  of  the  An- 
des flow  many  others,  which,  after  tortuous  meanderings  for  hund- 
reds of  miles,  are  lost  by  filtration  or  evaporation  during  the  heats 
of  simimer.  Others  form  shallow  lakes  and  become  the  sources 
of  streams  of  less  magnitude. 

From  the  west  the  Parana  and  ..Paraguay  also  receive  the  out- 
pourings of  a  great  number  of  minor  rivers,  many  of  which  are 
navigable  to  the  very  heart  of  some  of  the  finest  regions  of  the 
basin.  There  are  also  innumerable  riachos  which  wind  through 
estancias  and  forests,  forming  a  perfect  net- work  of  natural  canal- 
ization, and  again  find  an  outlet  in  the  parent  streams. 

The  structure  of  the  lands  forming  the  east  and  west  banks  of 
the  Parana  up  to  the  confluence  of  the  Paraguay,  and  again  iipon 
those  of  this  latter  river  up  to  the  Appa  exhibits  a  remarkable  con- 
trast. Beginning  with  the  shores  of  the  Banda  Oriental  and  pro- 
ceeding north  we  find  clay  slate,  gneiss,  and  granite,  as  at  Martin 
Garcia,  whose  quarries  furnish  all  the  materials  for  building  and 
paving  in  Buenos  Ayres.  Here  is  a  break  in  this  chain  by  the 
intervention  of  the  flat  lands  of  the  Parana  Delta.  At  Diamante 
a  calcareous  formation  is  presented  in  a  conglomerate  of  fossil 
sea-shells,  which  continues  for  a  long  distance  northward  on  a 
range  elevated  from  sixty  to  one  hundred  feet,  and  exhibiting  at 
some  points  crystallized  carbonate  of  lime,  of  which  we  procured 
very  perfect  specimens.  A  coarse  reddish  sandstone  and  indu- 
rated argillaceous  earth  of  the  same  color  characterize  the  high 
banks  of  the  Province  of  Corrientes.  Leavinsj  the  Parana  River 
where  it  turns  abruptly  eastward,  and  following  the  Paraguay,  we 
observe  at  some  distance  in  the  interior  ridges  and  rolling  lands ; 
but  bordering  the  banks  of  the  river  a  level  country  offers  no 


438 


TOSCA. 


appearance  of  rock  formation,  until  we  reach  tlie  isolated  Mount 
Lambare,  where  basaltic  rock  shows  itself.  From  Asuncion 
throughout  Paraguay  up  to  the  Kio  Appa  we  find,  at  various 
points,  banks  presenting  argillaceous  strata  and  precipitous  sec- 
tions of  silex  and  limestone. 

On  the  other  hand,  assuming  Buenos  Ayres  as  our  starting- 
point,  and  moving  northward,  on  the  west  bank  of  the  Parana  and 
Paraguay,  we  find  a  continuous  pampa  throughout  the  extent  of 
thirteen  degrees  of  latitude,  interrupted  only  at  one  point,  and  that 
an  isolated  hill  of  mica  schist  one  hundred  feet  in  height,  with  a 
base  of  not  more  than  three  hundred  in  diameter.  This  occurs  at 
the  distance  of  about  twelve  miles  above  Asuncion,  and  contains 
the  quarry  which  is  alluded  to  as  furnishing  a  good  quality  of 
stone  for  building. 

The  country  south  of  the  Salado  is  more  elevated,  and  appar- 
ently of  older  date  than  that  north  of  this  river,  which  we  assume 
as  the  southern  boundary  of  the  Chaco.     But  the  nearest  approach 


SIERRA    SIETE  PtTNTA,    IN  THE  CHAOO. 


to  rock  formation  throughout  the  whole  extent  of  this  region  is 
"  tosca,"  which  is  found  in  great  quantities  on  the  shores  of  La 
Plata,  near  the  city  of  Buenos  Ayres ;  at  various  points  in  both  the 
Salado  and  Vermejo,  it  forms  the  beds  of  those  rivers.  Beyond, 
or  north  of  the  Kio  Appa,  the  country  both  east  and  west  of  the 


KETIREMENT  OF  THE  SEA.  439 

Paraguay  assumes  very  mucli  the  same  claaracter,  low  and  of  re- 
cent date,  broken  only  by  isolated  hills,  some  of  them  rising  al- 
most to  the  proportions  of  mountains  from  the  water's  edge.  At 
Pan  de  Azucar  the  formation  is  syenite ;  at  Olimpo,  basaltic  rock ; 
at  Coimbra,  limestone,  white  marble,  and  sandstone,  with  appar- 
ent impressions  of  moss  resembling  arborescent  marble ;  at  Co- 
rumba,  limestone. 

Here  we  had  evidently,  however,  entered  upon  a  formation 
differing  from  that  of  the  Chaco.  Detached  spurs  and  isolated 
ranges  of  mountains  west  of  the  river,  divided  and  intersected  by 
low  fiat  lands,  quite  submerged  at  the  season  of  high  water,  lead 
the  imagination  to  picture  thera,^  at  some  anterior  date,  as  islands 
in  what  we  may  conceive  this  vast  region  of  La  Plata  once  to 
have  been — an  inland  sea. 

From  the  north  of  Patagonia  along  the  eastern  slopes  of  the  An- 
dean range,  skirting  the  pampa  northward  to  within  the  Province 
of  Chiquitos,  turning  east,  along  the  sierras  which  divide  the  val- 
ley of  the  Amazon  from  that  of  La  Plata,  to  the  Paraguay,  descend- 
ing the  latter  to  its  tributary,  the  Appa,  and  ascending  this  to  its 
source,  following  the  Cordillera  de  Maracayn  to  the  Salto  Grande 
of  the  Parana ;  descending  this  river  to  Missiones,  thence  across  to 
the  Uruguay  throughout  its  course,  and  to  the  capes  by  which 
the  great  estuary  pours  its  waters  into  the  Atlantic,  we  trace  out 
what  is  supposed  to  have  been  the  limits  of  a  great  gulf 

Then  came  a  gradual  subsidence,  and  water-courses  found  their 
beds  in  valleys  and  in  the  gentle  lowlands  of  the  Chaco.  We 
may  regard  this  as  a  distinct  period  in  the  retirement  of  these 
waters,  for  as  yet  we  suppose  the  sea  to  be  far  above  its  present 
shore-line.  The  rivers  of  La  Plata  were  then  born,  and  Sir 
Woodbine  Parrish  finds  their  outlet  in  the  Call  era  de  Arriola,  where 
the  fossil  remains  he  procured  for  the  British  Museum  were  dis- 
covered. From  this  point,  in  the  lapse  of  time,  as  the  earth  en- 
croached upon  the  sea,  these  riverine  waters  found  a  more  ex- 
tended course,  and  may  yet,  with  the  fiight  of  years  or  ages,  over- 
flow the  limits  assigned  them  by  modern  geography.  Strata  of 
marine  shells  found  at  various  depths  attest  the  revolutions  that 
have  been  going  on  for  ages.  And  upon  a  vast  section  of  the 
bed  of  this  ancient  sea  has  been  formed  the  alluvial  structure  of 
the  pampas. 

Near  the  shores  of  La  Plata  marine  remains  are  frequently  vis- 
ible, but  as  we  ascend  from  its  mouth  the  alluvium  increases  in 


440  THE  FAMPA  COUNTRY. 

depth.  Near  Santa  Fe,  three  hundred  miles  from  the  ocean,  Mr. 
Darwin  discovered  a  stratum  of  marine  shells,  over  which  was  an 
alluvial  bed,  forty  or  fifty  feet  deep,  containing  remains  of  ex- 
tinct mammalia.  Then  again,  as  he  remarks,  "  On  the  cliflt-bound 
shores  of  Entre  Eios  the  line  can  be  distinguished  where  the  estu- 
ary mud  first  encroached  upon  the  deposits  of  the  ocean." 

But  in  no  place  is  this  alluvial  deposit  more  distinctly  marked 
than  upon  the  Yermejo,  with  its  banks  rising  to  the  height  of 
thirty  and  forty  feet  in  the  level  country  of  the  Chaco.  Three 
beds  or  strata  were  always  distinguishable;  the  upper  and  the 
lower  varying  in  color  and  character,  while  the  centre  was  at  all 
points  the  same ;  a  vein  of  estuary  mud,  ordinarily  at  the  depth 
of  fifteen  or  twenty  feet  below  the  surface,  at  times  forming  a 
thick  deposit,  at  others  thinning  out  to  a  mere  line.  At  one  point 
of  the  river  I  obtained,  ten  feet  from  the  surface,  from  a  stratum 
of  indurated  clay,  a  specimen  which  has  the  appearance  of  roots 
and  grass,  and  at  another  we  found  fresh-water  fossil  shells  of 
very  minute  size. 

The  formation  of  the  pampa  country  of  La  Plata  has  scarcely 
received  the  consideration  and  analysis  to  which  its  peculiar  fea- 
tures may  certainly  lay  claim.  Travelers  have  noted  and  sur- 
mised, and  writers  have  surmised  from  these,  but  a  satisfactory 
treatise  would  seem  still  to  be  wanting,  to  establish  with  some  re- 
liability how  and  when  occurred  the  physical  changes  in  this  great 
alluvion,  some  of  which  are  of  very  recent  date.  The  origin  of 
its  saline  deposits  is  a  subject  of  interesting  inquiry.  Bland,  one 
of  the  United  States  Commissioners  in  1818  to  Buenos  Ayres, 
says  the  pampa  formation  "may  have  been  gently  lifted  just 
above  the  level  of  the  ocean,  and  left  with  a  surface  so  unbroken 
and  so  flat  as  not  yet  to  have  been  sufiiciently  purified  of  its  salt 
and  acrid  matter  either  by  filtration  or  washing."  It  is  admitted, 
however,  that  a  more  reasonable  hypothesis  for  the  saline  impreg- 
nation of  various  portions  of  the  Chaco  may  be  found  in  the  wash- 
ing, during  the  season  of  rains,  from  the  extensive  salt-fields  in  the 
valleys  and  on  the  eastern  slopes  of  the  Cordilleras.  Hence  flow 
the  head  waters  of  the  rivers,  which,  by  filtration  or  evaporation, 
impregnate  the  adjacent  soil  and  form  saline  lagoons,  the  sources 
of  other  streams  of  less  magnitude.  We  know  that  salts  on  the 
outer  crusts  of  the  earth  have  been  continuously  found  in  lowlands 
and  highlands,  in  springs  and  pools,  at  considerable  elevations. 
Shells  and  marine  remains  similar  to  those  found  throughout  this 


SEA  AND  LAND  CHANGES.  441 

vast  basin  liave  been  discovered  from  the  tops  of  the  Andes  to 
the  mountains  of  China,  All  creation  tells  of  a  diluvial,  and 
again  points  out  to  us  an  alluvial  period. 

That  the  Chaco  country  is  an  alluvial  formation  rests  beyond  a 
doubt.  Mr.  Darwin  enumerates  nine  distinct  quadrupeds,  the  re- 
mains of  which  he  discovered  at  Bahia  Blanca  in  the  province  Of 
Buenos  Ayres.  The  state  of  preservation  in  which  they  were 
found,  and  other  minor  circumstances,  prove  that  they  were  not 
tossed  and  swallowed  up  by  some  internal  convulsion  of  nature, 
but  were  slowly  and  gradually  entombed  by  the  earthy  matter, 
still  encroaching  upon  the  sea  and  rescuing  from  its  waste  of  wa- 
ters a  land  of  fertility. 

The  physical  revolutions  the  surface  of  the  earth  has  been  un- 
dergoing were  long  ago  proved  from  the  accounts  of  Strabo,  of 
Herodotus,  and  a  host  of  ancient  writers.  The  land  has  contin- 
uously encroached  upon  the  sea,  and  in  turn  the  sea  has  encroach- 
ed upon  the  land.  Herodotus  thought  that  Egyj)t  might  once 
have  been  a  long  and  narrow  galf  There  are  certainly  undoubted 
proofs  here,  as  in  many  places  elsewhere,  of  the  receding  of  the 
water.  Strabo  discussed  the  possibility  of  the  coast  of  Asia  Minor 
having  in  course  of  time  considerably  extended  itself  into  the  sea, 
and  Admiral  Beaufort  has  pointed  out  the  inlets  that  have  been 
filled  up  and  the  islands  that  have  joined  to  the  main  land  since 
the  days  of  that  ancient  geographer.  Eavenna,  Notre  Dame  des 
Ports,  and  numerous  other  towns,  which  were  once  sea-ports,  are 
now  several  miles  inland.  The  ancient  town  of  Port  Valois, 
the  Portus  Valesise  of  the  Romans,  was  once  situated  at  the  mouth 
of  the  Rhine,  but,  from  the  extensive  delta  formed  by  the  sedi- 
ment brought  down  that  river,  now  stands  a  mile  and  a  half  from 
the  water.  On  the  other  hand,  the  temple  of  Serapis  and  other 
structures  in  the  Bay  of  Baise  are  remarkable  Evidences  of  the 
fall  o'f  the  earth  and  the  rise  of  the  sea. 

The  filling  up  of  the  River  La  Plata  and  the  extension  of  the 
delta  of  the  Parana  are  changes  that  have  not  totally  escaped  ob- 
servation, although  they  have  not  been  noted  with  any  degree  of 
accuracy.  Buenos  Ayres  may  yet,  like  the  cities  just  mention- 
ed, become  an  inland  town. 

The  author  of  the  Argentina,  speaking  of  the  depth  of  water 
between  San  Gabriel  and  the  present  site  of  Buenos  Ayres,  says, 

"De  ancho  nueve  leguas  o  mas  tiene 
El  rio  pora  qui  y  muy  hondabte, 


442  FERTILITY  OF  THE  SOIL 

La  nave  hasta  aqui  segura  viene 

Que  como  el  ancho  mar  es  navigable." 

"The  river  's  here  nine  leagues  or  more, 
And  very  deep  'twixt  shore  and  shore, 
So  far  the  navigation's  free, 
As  though  'twere  an  open  sea. " 

"We  are  left  to  conjecture  what  the  poet's  notions  were  of  the 
depth  of  water ;  but  it  is  not  probable  that  he  would  have  applied 
the  term  "  muy  hondabk"  to  eighteen  or  twenty  feet  of  water,*  al- 
most in  an  open  sea ;  and  we  may  fairly  infer  that  since  the  pe- 
riod when  Centenera  ascended  the  river,  about  three  centuries 
ago,  the  detritus  brought  down  by  its  current  has  gradually  filled 
up  the  bed  to  its  present  level.  What  the  amount  of  this  deposit 
can  have  been  we  are  left  to  imagine.  Little  doubt,  however,  can 
be  entertained  but  this  filling  up  has  been  and  still  continues  the 
silent  work  of  time,  and  that  as  each  day  La  Plata  pours  its  sea 
of  waters  out  into  the  ocean,  layers  of  mud  and  vegetable  matter 
sift  to  its  shallow  bottom. 

All  the  great  rivers  of  La  Plata  flow  from  the  finest  mineral 
districts  of  the  world ;  but  this  valley  has  yet  richer  mines  in  its 
varied  and  fertile  soil,  and  in  the  wealth  of  the  vegetable  king- 
dom, which  is  marvelous.  In  ascending  continuously  from  the 
Capes  of  La  Plata  to  Martin  Garcia,  from  the  fragrant  isles  of  the 
Parana  to  the  fruitful  wilds  of  Brazil,  in  river  and  land  explora- 
tions of  over  eight  thousand  miles,  we  found  every  indigenous  va- 
riety of  trojiical  vegetation ;  passed  forests  of  precious  woods,  in- 
terrupted only  by  extended  j^lains  carpeted  with  vigorous  grass- 
es and  capable  of  supporting  an  incalculable  number  of  horned 
cattle.  Again  :  I  entered  populous  districts,  and  witnessed  a 
demonstration  of  all  the  capabilities  of  the  soil  for  agricultural 
wealth;  but  the  inhabitants  of  these  districts,  not  stimulated  to 
exertion  by  exterior  commerce,  have  heretofore  pursued  agricul- 
ture only  as  a  means  of  supplying  the  demand  for  home  consump- 
tion. When  small  fields  of  cotton,  tobacco,  and  sugar  are  suf- 
ficient for  the  wants  of  a  few  families,  there  is  no  inducement  to 
form  great  plantations;  but  having  seen  these  articles  grown  to 
the  perfection  of  maturity,  with  but  little  culture,  and  even  spon- 
taneously, I  can  readily  imagine  that  in  a  few  years  they  would 
become  staples. 

We  brought  home  sections  of  a  variety  of  woods,  and  of  their 
indestructible  qualities  I  had  some  opportunity  of  judging  in  my 


HEALTHFUL  CLIMATE.  443 

frequent  visits  to  the  abandoned  missions  of  the  Jesuits  in  Para- 
guay, where  the  finest  wood-work — columns,  statuary,  and  roofing 
— exposed  to  the  action  of  the  elements  for  more  than  two  centu- 
ries, were  as  untouched  by  time  as  granite  or  iron.  "  A  ship  built 
of  Paraguay  wood,"  says  Azara,  "  will  outlast  four  of  European 
timber."  The  economy  of  nature  also  is  most  wonderful  and  beau- 
tiful. In  the  edible  fruits,  foliage,  barks,  fibres,  and  juices  of  its 
great  forest  trees,  as  well  as  in  those  of  every  species  of  minor 
vegetation,  we  find  farinaceous  food,  a  stimulant,  or  tea,  more 
healthful  than  that  afforded  by  the  Chinese  leaf,  precious  medi- 
cines,* raw  materials  for  the  finest  tissues  and  the  most  useful 
fabrics,  dye-stuffs  offering  varied  and  unfading  tinges,  gums,  res- 
ins. This  exuberance  of  vegetable  life  is  united  with  a  climate 
as  delicious  as  it  is  salubrious. 

The  exposure  incident  to  works  of  this  character  is  calculated 
generally  to  give  a  correct  idea  of  the  health  of  the  country  in 
which  they  are  prosecuted.  And  such  was  the  unusual  absence 
of  sickness  among  both  officers  and  crew  of  the  Water  Witch,  not- 
withstanding the  exposure  to  which  they  were  subjected,  that  I 
am  constrained  to  pronounce  Paraguay  and  those  provinces  of  the 
Argentine  Confederation  which  constituted  the  field  of  our  opera- 
tions among  the  healthiest  regions  of  the  earth.  Its  j)roximity  to 
the  tropics  and  physical  character,  judging  from  analogy,  might, 
on  a  superficial  knowledge  of  it,  convey  a  very  different  idea. 

But,  in  giving  this  as  an  opinion,  I  do  not  judge  solely  from 
the  effects  of  the  climate  upon  our  exploring  party,  but  from  facts 
indisputable.  In  Paraguay  there  is  no  practicing  physician.  It 
is  not  an  uncommon  occurrence  to  meet  with  aged  persons  who 
will  say  they  have  never  been  sick.  In  the  Province  of  Santiago 
del  Estero  there  is  no  professional  physician.  One  will  often  hear 
the  remark,  "  There  has  never  occurred  in  Santiago  a  case  of  in- 
termittent fever."  It  was  in  this  province  that  I  tested  my  own 
power  of  endurance,  and  at  the  same  time  the  salubrity  of  the  at- 
mosphere, by  the  exposure  to  which  I  was  subjected  both  by  day 
and  night.  During  the  greater  portion  of  the  year  the  country 
people  sleep  in  the  open  air,  never  "  in  doors"  unless  driven  in  by 
rain. 

This  condition  of  climate  prevails,  although  in  a  less  degree, 
throughout  the  Confederation.     Had  the  great  delineator  and  in- 

*  Amonf:^  the  botanical  specimens  collected  in  Paraguay  alone  are  sixty-six  va- 
rieties of  medicinal  plants,  and  yet  the  collection  is  incomplete  in  this  branch. 


444  RIVER  NAVIGATION. 

vestigator  of  South  American  nature  visited  La  Plata,  he  would 
have  made  it  an  exception  in  penning  the  following  passage: 
"  Extreme  fertility  of  soil  and  insalubrity  of  atmosphere  are  as  in- 
separably connected  in  South  America  as  in  Southern  Asia."* 

The  progress  made  in  those  countries  even  during  the  short  pe- 
riod of  the  operations  of  this  expedition — the  Constitutional  Gov- 
ernment having  been  established  in  1853 — was  too  manifest  to 
escape  the  most  uninterested  observer,  and  it  has  demonstrated 
practically  to  the  comprehension  of  the  people  the  wonderful 
blessings  of  peace  and  good  government  over  civil  wars  and  des- 
potism. 

A  company,  with  a  large  grant  of  land  from  the  General  Govern- 
ment, was  soon  formed  for  the  navigation  of  the  Salado,  and  Don 
Manuel  Taboado,  Governor  of  Santiago  del  Estero,  writes  to  me, 
under  date  of  September  1st,  1857 :  "  Two  years  have  elapsed 
since  the  exploration  of  the  Salado,  which,  under  your  direction, 
has  given  such  good  results.  Yesterday — the  anniversary  of  your 
arrival  in  Santiago — came  Captain  Benetti,  of  the  steamer  Salado, 
now  aground  at  Monte  Aguara,  he  having  ascended  the  river  in 
a  boat,  which  he  left  at  Navicha.f  ....  Captain  Benetti  noted, 
between  Aguara  and  Navicha,  about  forty  fallen  trees,  and  it  now 
remains  only  to  complete  the  work  you  began 

"  I  have  before  advised  you  of  our  successes  on  the  frontier 
against  the  Indians.  We  have  defeated  them  in  several  engage- 
ments, and  they,  having  since  made  peace  and  conducted  them- 
selves well,  are  now  employed  in  the  transmission  of  our  corre- 
spondences by  canoes  from  Bracho  to  Aguara." 

On  the  faith  of  evidence  given  that  the  Vermejo  is  navigable 
in  its  ascent  by  steamers,  a  company,  composed  in  part  of  some 
enterprising  Englishmen,  was  formed  for  this  purpose ;  and  hav- 
ing obtained  from  the  government  of  the  Argentine  Confeder- 
ation exclusive  privileges,  procured  from  England  four  small 
steamers.  Entertaining  a  deep  interest  in  all  such  enterprises — 
the  fruits  of  our  work — I  strongly  advised  that  the  steamers  re- 
quired for  the  navigation,  especially  of  the  small  tributaries  of  the 
central  rivers,  should  be  procured  in  the  United  States ;  for,  apart 
from  a  national  feeling,  and  without  reflecting  upon  the  skill  of 
English  ship-builders,  I  do  not  hesitate  to  assert  that  in  no  part 

*  Views  of  Nature. 

t  Distant  from  Bracho,  the  first  military  post  in  Santiago  on  the  Salado,  fifteen 
miles. 


INDUCEMENTS  FOR  IMMIGRATION.  445 

of  the  world  lias  the  construction  of  boats  of  small  draught  been 
carried  to  the  same  extent  or  brought  to  such  perfection  as  in 
the  United  States ;  and  for  the  simple  reason  that  here  we  have 
an  inland  navigation  of  vast  extent  and  of  great  value,  which  has 
excited  the  ingenuity  of  ship-builders  to  devise  such  construction, 
and  so  to  apply  the  means  of  propulsion  as  to  admit  of  the  least 
possible  draught. 

Paraguay  promises  a  lucrative  commerce  to  any  people  that 
may  become  engaged  in  it ;  producing  tobacco,  hides,  yerba,  cot- 
ton, medicinal  plants,  dye-stuffs,  indigo,  and  a  variety  of  woods 
for  ship-building  and  ornamental  purposes.  So  superior  is  the 
quality  of  her  tobacco,  to  which  both  climate  and  soil  seem  pecul- 
iarly adapted,  that  it  would  alone  become  an  article  of  extensive 
trade.  She  would  seek  eagerly  in  return  salt  and  manufactured 
goods. 

In  ascending  the  Paraguay  two  thousand  miles  from  the  At- 
lantic we  reached  the  frontiers  of  some  of  the  richest  provinces  of 
Brazil,  provinces  whose  products  had  before  no  outlets  but  the 
port  of  Eio  Janeiro — a  port  reached  by  a  laborious,  dangerous, 
and  costly  land  travel,  over  mountain  paths  accessible  only  to  the 
sure-footed  mule. 

A  part  of  the  ancient  empire  of  the  Incas — the  State  of  Bolivia 
— has  vital  interests  in  the  results  of  this  exploration.  Possessing 
but  one  indifferent  port  on  the  Pacific,  Cobija,  and  from  this  sepa- 
rated by  the  Cordilleras  of  the  Andes,  it  is  only  by  her  rivers  that 
the  wealth  of  her  mines  and  the  fruits  of  her  forests,  teeming  with 
many  of  the  products  of  the  Indies,  can  be  brought  into  the  trade 
of  the  Atlantic. 

From  being  one  of  the  best  populated  as  well  as  the  richest  of 
the  South  American  States,  a  field  is  at  once  opened  for  the  manu- 
factures of  Europe  and  the  United  States.  At  simply  a  nominal 
expense,  when  we  look  to  the  vastness  of  the  interest  involved, 
might  she  effect  this  outlet  into  the  Paraguay,  through  the  river 
Otuquis,  now  obstructed  by  a  dense  growth  of  grass. 

With  the  navigability  of  her  great  interior  water-courses  once 
established.  La  Plata  will  have  received  a  development  of  cen- 
turies, and  we  may  safely  anticipate  the  tide  of  immigration  which 
will  set  into  that  valley,  and,  without  being  visionary,  we  foresee  a 
future  which,  in  the  history  of  the  world,  will  only  be  surpassed 
by  the  growth  of  the  United  States  of  North  America.  In  offer- 
ing to  immigrants  the  temptations  of  a  country  even  richer  in 


446  EMIGRATION  FROM  EUROPE. 

all  natural,  mineral,  pastoral,  and  agricultural  resources  than  the 
great  basins  of  the  Orinoco  and  Amazon,  we  have  shown  that 
she  offers  a  climate  genial  and  unrivaled  for  its  salubrity,  and  a 
population  sufiiciently  large  and  advanced  in  civility  to  form  at 
once  the  basis  of  extensive  commercial  operations. 

Brossard,  a  French  diplomatist,  says,  in  writing  on  the  immigra- 
tion from  France  into  that  country:  "In  1838  the  number  of 
French  registered  at  the  French  Consulate  at  Montevideo  amount- 
ed to  five  thousand ;  at  the  end  of  1812  it  had  increased  to  nine 
thousand ;  but  it  must  be  remembered  that  this  register  embraced 
only  adults ;  and  the  best  authorities  compute  the  whole  number, 
inclusive  of  women  and  children,  at  not  less  than  fifteen  thousand. 
During  the  first  months  of  the  year  1841  there  arrived  at  Monte- 
video more  than  thirty-five  hundred  persons  from  the  Basque 
Provinces,  and  it  is  estimated  that  not  less  than  28,245  EurojDean 
iromigrants  arrived  from  1838  to  the  close  of  1841."  This  tide 
of  immigration  flowed  in  when  these  countries  were  distracted  by 
civil  wars  and  revolutions,  which  have  given  place  to  more  settled 
governments  and  commercial  treaties  with  the  United  States  and 
some  of  the  great  powers  of  Europe. 

The  leading  governments  of  Europe  have  manifested  for  many 
years  an  active  interest  in  the  affairs  of  La  Plata,  and  my  opinion 
of  its  immense  resources  for  commerce  are  more  than  sustained 
by  some  of  their  most  eminent  statesmen.  Austria,  at  an  early 
period,  acknowledged  the  independence  of  the  La  Plata  Eepub- 
lics.  Proverbially  sagacious  and  far-seeing  as  her  statesmen  are 
known  to  be,  they  have  doubtless  discovered  in  that  region  a 
healthy  outlet  for  the  disaffected  population  of  the  Lombardo-Ve- 
netian  States. 

M.  Guizot  comprehended  the  importance  of  opening  the  coun- 
tries of  this  great  basin  to  European  enterprise.  In  a  dispatch  to 
M.  de  St.  Aulaire,  then  the  French  Ambassador  at  London,  he 
says,  in  writing  of  the  intervention  of  France  and  England  in  the 
affairs  of  La  Plata:  "We  must  ask,  as  an  accessory  consequence 
of  our  intervention,  the  application  of  the  principles  established 
by  the  Congress  at  Vienna  for  the  free  navigation  of  rivers,  in  re- 
lation to  those  which,  flowing  from  the  frontiers  of  Brazil  and 
Paraguay,  throw  themselves  into  the  Atlantic." 

M.  Thiers,  in  a  speech  before  the  legislative  assembly  of  France, 
delivered  January  6th,  1850,  says  of  the  commerce  and  brilliant 
future  of  La  Plata:  "Your  trade  with  the  two  Americas  is  enor- 


M.  GUIZOT  ON  SOUTH  AMERICA.  447 

mous ;  larger  than  with  any  other  region  of  the  globe.  It  repre- 
sents nearly  five  hundred  millions,  of  which  North  America  ab- 
sorbs the  greater  part.  Of  these  five  hundred  millions  North 
America  receives  three  hundred  and  fifty ;  South  America  one 
hundred  and  fifty,  which  is  not  quite  a  third ;  but  you  deceive 
yourselves  strangely  if  you  appreciate  this  hundred  and  fifty  mil- 
lions of  commerce  only  by  the  cypher  by  which  it  is  represented. 
The  trade  of  North  America,  which  apparently  presents  such 
great  advantages,  and  which  you  regard  with  such  solicitude,  has 
two  great  drawbacks :  First,  it  is  exposed  to  the  tariff,  which  the 
manufacturing  classes  {parti  industriel)  demand.  Secondly,  they 
have  the  advantage  of  you  in  navigation 

^'Now  let  us  look  at  South  America.  You  there  trade  with 
nations  whose  growth  surpasses  even  that  of  North  America. 
The  census  of  North  America  represents  the  population  as  doub- 
ling itself  nearly  in  twenty  years,  I  can  prove  to  you  that  there 
are  states  in  South  America  where  the  population  has  tripled  in 
twelve  years. 

"  The  trade  of  Brazil  has  advanced  in  ten  years  from  a  little 
less  than  thirty  to  sixty  millions ;  the  trade  of  La  Plata  has  ad- 
vanced, in  twelve  years,  from  between  four  and  five  millions  to 
forty  milhons. 

"  You  may  judge  from  this  of  the  progress  of  trade  in  those 
countries. 

"  I  am  profoundly  convinced  that  without  this  war,  which  your 
energy  alone  can  terminate,  the  trade  of  South  America — and  I 
speak  without  exaggeration — will  reach  to  two  hundred  millions. 

"Again:  you  encounter  there  no  manufacturing  party  {parti 
industriel).  She  can  not  menace  you  for  a  long  period  with  the 
industrial  rivalry  which  now  threatens  you  in  the  United  States ; 
the  people  of  South  America  are  at  best  an  agricultural  people. 
And,  lastly,  you  have  the  certainty  that  your  flag  will  there  de- 
velop itself  immensely ;  and  there  is  only  that  region  for  its  de- 
velopment {et  il  n^y  a  plus  que  cette  region  pour  le  deveIopper)J^ 

In  a  memorial  addressed  to  the  King  of  Prussia,  advocating 
the  establishment  of  a  line  of  steamers  to  South  America,  the 
views  of  Thiers  for  France  are  apj^lied  to  Germany.  The  writers 
say :  "  Brazil  will  never  become  a  manufacturing  country,  and 
the  products  of  Germany  will  there,  m  all  time,  or  forever,  find  an 
assured  outlet  or  market.  After  Brazil  the  states  of  the  Rio  de 
la  Plata  merit  the  greatest  attention  among  the  countries  of  South 


448  OUR  TRUE  POLICY. 

America,  and  an  extended  commerce  with  Brazil  will  secure  to 
Germany  relations  with  these  states.  The  vast  territories  which 
form  the  basin  of  the  Parana,  the  Paraguay,  and  the  Uruguay, 
and  their  tributaries,  contain  the  elements  of  a  prosperity  and 
wealth  the  most  varied.  What  a  future  do  these  countries  not 
offer!" 

While  benefiting  these  neighboring  and  weaker  republics  by 
developing  their  river  system,  we  have  opened  a  vast  field  for 
trade  in  all  the  products  of  temperate  and  tropical  zones ;  and 
these,  with  the  mineral  treasures  of  the  Andes,  can  find  a  rapid 
and  safe  river-transit  to  the  Atlantic.  Protected  by  the  flags  of 
the  great  maritime  powers,  this  excess  of  wealth  will  be  poured 
into  the  lap  of  nations.  WiU  not  our  people  seek  a  fair  commer- 
cial intercourse  with  these  states  of  our  own  hemisphere  ?  We 
can  apply  to  ourselves  with  equal  force  the  arguments  of  Thiers 
and  the  (jerman  memorialists.  We  are  not  there  menaced  by  the 
rivalry  of  a  manufacturing  people,  and  our  flag  may  find  a  field 
of  extensive  development.  If  the  government  of  the  United 
States  be  true  to  its  interest ;  if  it  desire  to  cherish  and  maintain 
a  feeling  of  national  friendship  with  those  countries  ;  if  it  desire 
to  secure  any  benefits  likely  to  arise  from  its  commerce — destined 
to  be  of  inestimable  value — it  must  step  in  while  the  "  waters  are 
troubled,"  it  must  move  ere  alliances  are  made  elsewhere. 

The  most  flattering  compliment  has  been  paid  this  government 
by  the  people  of  the  Argentine  Confederation,  through  their  rep- 
resentatives, that  could  possibly  be  bestowed  by  one  nation  upon 
another.  They  have  adopted  our  Constitution  as  the  model  of 
theirs,  in  every  particular,  save  some  few  where  it  would  have 
been  totally  inoperative.  They  point  to  our  progress  as  an  exam- 
ple to  their  own  people ;  they  copy  and  circulate  the  writings  of 
our  statesmen ;  they  desire  to  imitate  us  so  far  as  it  may  be  pos- 
sible, and  to  this  end  they  look  for  a  continuance  of  peace. 

I  have  carefully  noted  in  my  narrative  the  reception  of  the  ex- 
pedition and  the  courtesies  extended  to  myself  and  ofiicers  by  the 
inhabitants  of  La  Plata  as  an  evidence  of  their  disposition  to  fra- 
ternize with  our  people.  These  countries  are  worthy  of  our  high- 
est consideration,  and  if,  in  diplomatic  relations,  we  are  not  ably 
represented,  then  we  are  not  fairly  represented,  and  we  do  injus- 
tice to  ourselves. 


FIRST  DISCOVERY  OF  LA  PLATA.  449 


CHAPTEE  XXYI, 

First  Discovery  of  the  River  La  Plata  by  Solis. — Death  of  Solis. — Sebastian  Cabot. 
— First  Settlement  in  La  Plata. — Explorations  of  Cabot. — Indian  Hostilities. — 
Highway  to  El  Dorado. — Don  Diego  Garcia. — Cabot's  Dispatch  to  the  Emperor. 
— Pizarro. — Cabot  superseded. — Don  Pedro  de  Mendoza. — His  Expedition  to  La 
Plata. — Founding  of  Buenos  Ayres. — Hostility  of  the  Indians. — Attack  upon 
Buenos  Ayres. — Ayolas. — His  Expedition  up  the  River. — Death  of  Mendoza. — 
Destruction  of  the  Spaniards  under  Ayolas. — Don  Dominguez  Yrala. — Founding 
of  Asuncion. — Indian  Conspiracy. — The  Spaniards  and  the  Natives. — Don  Al- 
varo  Kunez  de  Vaca. — His  Journey  across  the  Continent. — Administration  of 
De  Vaca.  —  He  is  sent  back  to  Spain. — Yrala  appointed  Adelantado. — Asun- 
cion erected  into  a  Bishopric. — Disasters  of  the  first  Adventurers. — Successful 
Administration  of  Trala. — Commanderies. — Death  of  Yrala. — Zarate  and  Garay. 
— Victory  over  the  Indians. — First  export  Cargo. — Death  of  Garay. — Final  Con- 
quest of  La  Plata. — Separation  from  Paraguay. 

To  the  Narrative  of  the  American  Exploring  Expedition  I  ap- 
pend a  few  chapters  giving  an  abstract  of  the  early  history  of  La 
Plata  and  the  proceedings  of  the  Jesuits  in  that  region. 

The  basin  of  La  Plata  is  one  of  the  three  geographical  divisions 
of  the  southern  section  of  our  hemisphere,  and  takes  its  name  from 
the  river  discovered  by  Juan  Diaz  de  Solis,  great  pilot  of  Castile, 
who,  having  received  from  the  Spanish  Crown  command  of  an 
expedition  to  follow  up  the  discoveries  of  Vincent  Yannes  Pinson 
upon  the  Brazilian  coast  and  southward,  started  in  the  month  of 
September,  1515,  with  three  vessels,  one  of  sixty  and  two  of  thirty 
tons,  all  provisioned  for  two  and  a  half  years. 

Solis,  in  the  same  year,  reached  the  entrance  of  a  supposed  es- 
tuary, which  he  ascended  for  some  distance ;  discovering  it  to  be 
a  river,  and  finding  the  navigation  intricate,  he  left  his  vessels,  and 
in  a  boat  ranged  the  western  shores  as  high  as  the  island  of  Mar- 
tin Garcia.  Here,  deceived  by  the  submissive  movements  of  In- 
dians who  placed  at  their  feet  provisions  and  other  offerings,  the 
explorer,  with  a  few  men,  ventured  to  land  without  due  precau- 
tionary measures  to  guard  against  the  treachery  of  the  savages, 

"who,"  says  Charlevoix,  "killed  him  and  all  his  attendants 

and,  stripping  the  dead  carcasses,  roasted  and  ate  them  in  sight 
of  those  who  had  remained  in  the  boat,  or  had  taken  refuge  in  it, 
and  who  had  now  no  other  course  to  take  but  to  return  to  Spain," 
The  right  of  Spain  to  one  of  the  fairest  regions  of  the  earth  was 

29 


450  SEBASTIAN  CABOT. 

thus  sealed  by  tlie  blood  of  tbe  great  pilot  of  Castile,  wlio  was, 
according  to  Herrera,  one  of  the  boldest  navigators  of  the  day ; 
but  for  some  years  no  steps  were  taken  to  follow  up  bis  discovery. 

Sebastian  Cabot,  having  left  the  service  of  England,  entered  that 
of  Spain  in  1512.  He  was  received  with  every  mark  of  consid- 
eration by  Ferdinand,  and  in  1618  given  the  post  oi  piloto  major. 
It  was  reserved  for  this  explorer  to  reveal  the  wonderful  river 
system  of  La  Plata.  Ten  years  after  the  death  of  De  Solis  he  was 
charged  by  Charles  V.  to  pass  through  the  Straits  of  Magellan 
and  open  a  communication  with  the  Spice  Islands.  This  expedi- 
tion, consisting  of  four  small  vessels  and  a  caravel,  sailed  from 
San  Lucar  April  8d,  1526.  Cabot  lost  his  largest  ship  on  the 
coast  of  Brazil,  and  observing  among  his  crew  a  spirit  of  disaffec- 
tion, which  soon  ripened  into  an  open  mutiny,  headed  by  Martin 
Mendez  and  Michael  Eoxas,  two  officers  next  to  himself  in  rank, 
he  determined  to  abandon  the  voyage  to  the  Moluccas. 

Landing  the  mutineers  at  the  island  of  St.  Catharine,  he,  with 
about  two  hundred  brave  followers,  among  them  three  brothers 
of  Vasco  Nunez  de  Balboa,  sailed  for  the  Parana  Guazu,  which 
he  ascended  to  the  scene  of  Solis's  disaster.  Leaving  here  his  two 
largest  vessels,  thirty  men,  and  twelve  soldiers,  Cabot,  on  the  8th 
of  May,  1527,  with  a  brig  and  caravel,  passed  through  the  chan- 
nel which  still  bears  the  name  he  gave  it — Las  Palmas — and  en- 
tered the  mouth  of  the  Uruguay ;  from  thence  a  boat  party  was 
sent  up  the  river  under  the  command  of  Juan  Alvarez  de  Kamon, 
who,  after  a  navigation  of  three  days,  ran  aground  on  a  sand-bank, 
where  he  was  attacked  by  the  savages,  Eamon  was  killed,  but  a 
few  of  the  men  escaped  by  swimming,  and  succeeded  in  rejoining 
their  ships.  The  expedition  next  entered  the  central  river — the 
Parana — and  off  the  mouth  of  the  Carcarana,  or  Zacarania,  now 
known  as  the  Tercero,  latitude  82°  50',  came  to  anchor.  Finding 
the  natives,  who  throughout  his  ascent  flocked  in  crowds  to  the 
shore,  disposed  to  be  friendly,  and  enchanted  with  the  beauty  of 
the  country,  Cabot  ordered  up  the  remainder  of  his  ships,  and 
commenced  the  first  settlement  of  La  Plata,  San  Espiritu,  which 
was,  when  completed,  garrisoned  by  an  officer  and  sixty  men. 

On  the  22d  of  December,  1527,  Cabot  recommenced  his  explo- 
ration of  the  Parana,  which  he  ascended  for  nine  hundred  miles 
to  latitude  22°  27'  20",  longitude  59°,  at  which  point  navigation 
was  obstructed  by  the  Falls  of  Apipe.  Here  the  expedition  re- 
mained for  thirty  days,  during  which  time  its  commander  fre- 


DIEGO  GAKCIA.  45I 

quently  communicated  witli  tile  Indians  of  the  bordering  coun- 
try, who  exhibited  an  amicable  spirit,  and  gave  in  exchange  for 
articles  of  little  value  pieces  of  gold  and  silver,  which  were  brought, 
they  said,  from  lands  to  the  west.  The  explorers  next  retraced 
their  steps  to  the  confluence  of  the  Parana  and  Paraguay,  entered 
the  latter  river,  and  ascended  to  the  mouth  of  the  Vermejo,  where 
they  were  attacked  by  several  thousand  Payaguas  Indians,  who 
bore  down  upon  them  in  three  hundred  canoes,  and  were  only  re- 
pulsed with  considerable  loss  on  the  part  of  the  Spaniards.  The 
second  in  command,  Michael  Kifos,  and  the  treasurer  of  the  expe- 
dition were  both  killed.  Seeing  the  resolufe  spirit  of  the  invad- 
ers, the  savages  next  made  pacific  overtures  by  bringing  to  them 
provisions  and  ornaments  of  precious  metals,  which,  like  the  Pa- 
rana Indians,  they  described  as  coming  from  the  west.  Herrera 
says  they  were  the  spoils  of  war  taken  by  the  Payaguas  in  a  re- 
cent inroad  into  the  dominions  of  Huana  Capuc.  Charlevoix  be- 
lieves them  to  have  been  part  of  the  effects  of  the  unfortunate 
Portuguese  adventurer,  Alexis  Garcia,  who  a  short  time  before 
this  date  had  traversed  the  continent  from  Brazil  to  Peru,  obtain- 
ed a  considerable  treasure,  and  in  returning  reached  the  borders 
of  the  Paraguay,  where  he  was  put  to  death  by  the  Indians. 

Cabot  was  at  this  time  unaware  of  the  journey  of  Garcia,  but 
Balboa's  letters  from  the  Pacific  mentioning  a  region  in  the  south 
teeming  with  the  precious  metals,  had  reached  Spain  before  the 
saihng  of  this  expedition,  and  he  probably  received  from  the  sav- 
ages some  definite  information  of  the  existence  of  the  Peruvian 
empire.  Undoubtedly  believing  the  great  river  he  was  explor- 
ing to  be  a  highway  to  El  Dorado,  he  named  it "  Eio  de  la  Plata." 

The  jealousy  of  the  conquerors,  and  the  avarice  of  the  mer- 
chants of  Seville  and  Lima,  who  afterward  obtained  a  monopoly 
of  the  trade  of  the  Pacific  provinces,  the  want  of  enterprise,  and 
the  distracted  state  of  the  Plata  republics  since  their  separation 
from  Spain,  have  left  the  problem  unsolved.  It  may  be  among 
the  developments  of  the  nineteenth  century  to  prove  that  Cabot's 
conjectures  were  correct.  The  Paraguay  may  yet  be  established 
as  the  most  direct  communication  between  Europe  and  the  finest 
districts  of  the  Peruvian  empire. 

A  rival  now  appeared  in  the  field.  At  the  mouth  of  the  Ver- 
mejo the  explorers  met  Don  Diego  Garcia,  who,  uninformed  of  the 
course  taken  by  the  expedition  of  Cabot,  had  intended  to  follow 
up  the  discovery  of  Sohs.     Agreeing  to  continue  their  work  in 


452  PIZARRO. 

amity  the  two  commanders  return-ed  to  San  Espiritu ;  but  having 
afterward  a  misunderstanding,  and  Garcia's  party  being  greatly 
inferior  in  numbers,  he  left  the  river.  Ferdinand  Calderon  and 
George  Barlowe  (the  latter  an  Englishman)  were  dispatched  to 
Spain  with  rich  specimens  of  the  precious  metals  and  several  Gua- 
rani  Indians,  whom  they  were  instructed  to  present  to  his  Spanish 
Majesty,  and  solicit  aid  and  authority  for  Cabot  to  extend  his  ex- 
plorations westward. 

The  messengers,  with  their  human  and  metallic  credentials, 
were  well  received  by  the  Emperor ;  the  course  of  their  com- 
mander was  approved,  and  promises  were  given  of  assistance. 
But  their  arrival  was  immediately  followed  by  that  of  Francisco 
Pizarro,  who  reached  Spain  in  May  1528.  Cabot  had  only  offered 
conjectures  of  a  golden  region  west  of  the  Paraguay.  Pizarro, 
after  incredible  hardships,  the  very  recital  of  which  moved  his 
Majesty  to  tears,  had  reached  the  borders  of  Dorado.  One  asked 
both  authority  and  means  to  continue  his  explorations ;  the  other 
sought  only  the  royal  permission,  relying  upon  his  own  resources. 
He  had  brought  with  him  material  proof  of  his  discoveries.  Bal- 
boa had  sent  home  drawings  of  the  lama  ;  Pizarro  now  exhibited 
to  the  Spaniard  the  wonderful  animal  itself,  with  fine  fabrics  of  its 
wool.  There  were  also  valuable  and  artistically-wrought  speci- 
mens of  the  precious  metals.  The  golden  empire  of  the  south  was 
no  longer  a  chimera  of  the  imaginative  adventurers,  for  they  had 
entered  the  temple  of  Tumbez  and  could  testify  to  its  exceeding 
riches ;  its  coating  of  gems,  gold,  and  silver ;  they  had  visited  the 
gardens  of  the  Inca's  brides,  resplendent  with  the  precious  met- 
als ;  had  actually  seen  and  watched  the  artisans  engaged  in  the 
formation  of  its  costly  decorations. 

Charles  was  on  the  eve  of  starting  for  Italy  to  receive  the  im- 
perial crown  from  the  Eoman  Pontiff.  Before  his  departure  he 
commended  the  cause  of  Pizarro  to  the  General  Council  of  the 
Indies ;  the  promises  made  to  the  messengers  from  La  Plata  were 
forgotten.  Impatient  for  their  return,  uncertain  even  as  to  their 
fate,  Cabot  determined  to  submit  in  person  his  cause  to  the  em- 
peror, and,  leaving  a  garrison  of  one  hundred  and  ten  men  at  San 
Espiritu,  under  the  command  of  Nino  de  Lara,*  he  sailed  for  Spain, 

*  A  cacique  of  one  of  the  neighboring  tribes,  having  conceived  a  passion  for  the 
young  and  beautiful  wife  of  a  Spanish  officer,  carried  her  off  in  the  absence  of  her 
husband  and  a  large  part  of  the  garrison  of  San  Epiritu.  This  led  to  conflicts  with 
the  Timbres,  and  San  Espiritu  was  finally  abandoned. 


PEDKO  DE  MENDOZA.  453 

■where  lie  arrived  in  1530,  after  an  absence  of  nearly  five  years, 
only  to  learn  the  good  fortune  of  Pizarro  and  his  own  disappoint- 
ment. As  some  compensation,  he  was  offered  and  accepted  his 
old  post  of  pilot  of  Castile. 

K  fervently  impressed  with  the  value  of  his  discovery,  the  great 
navigator  quietly  abandoned  to  others  the  right  of  forther  exami- 
nation ;  but  we  must  remember  that  the  whole  future  expense  of 
the  discovery  and  settlement  of  these  countries  was  borne  by  the 
conquerors  from  their  private  resources,  or  those  amassed  in  the 
course  of  their  explorations.  Cabot  was  not  rich,  and  is  repre- 
sented by  contemporary  writers  as  singularly  gentle  and  disinter- 
ested in  character.  He  was  doubtless  totally  unfitted  for  the  in- 
trigues of  a  court,  and  as  the  emperor  was  unwilling  or  unable 
to  afford  him  assistance,  he  probably  found  it  difficult,  if  not  im- 
possible, to  obtain  credit  from  other  sources  for  a  sufficient  sum, 
especially  when  he  could  offer  no  proof  of  the  existence  of  golden 
regions  in  La  Plata,  or  a  connection  with  Peru  more  definite  than 
that  afforded  by  the  reports  of  the  Indians,  wto  gave  five  hund- 
red leagues  as  its  distance  from  the  Paraguay. 

Don  Pedro  de  Mendoza,  a  wealthy  gentleman  of  Andalusia, 
who  was  attached  to  the  Emperor's  household,  and  had  served 
with  distinction  in  the  Italian  wars,  next  offered  to  defray  all  the 
expenses  of  an  expedition  to  La  Plata  of  a  thousand  men  furnish- 
ed with  provisions  and  equipments  for  one  year.  In  return  he 
was  to  be  endowed  with  the  title  of  adelantado,  and  to  have  a  ju- 
risdiction limited  only  by  tlje  concessions  already  made  to  Pizarro 
and  Almagro.  His  salary  of  two  thousand  ducats  was  to  be  de- 
frayed from  the  lands  discovered  by  Cabot,  or  from  the  revenues 
of  new  conquests;  great  privileges  were  likewise  conceded  to 
those  who  should  accompany  him. 

Not  only  was  Mendoza  impressed  with  the  anticipation  of  find- 
ing a  direct  route  to  Peru,  but  the  terms  of  the  asiento^  "  If  any 
sovereign  prince  should  fall  into  their  hands  the  whole  of  his  ran- 
som was  to  be  the  reward  of  the  conqueror  after  deducting  the 
royal  fifth,"  suggested  a  hope  of  other  and  neighboring  empires 
of  equal  wealth  and  civilization. 

A  large  number  of  individuals  of  distinction,  among  them  thir- 
ty noblemen,  the  eldest  sons  of  their  families,  and  several  Flemish 
ofiicers,  joined  the  expedition ;  there  was,  indeed,  so  great  a  mul- 
titude of  all  classes*  that,  instead  of  a  thousand,  at  the  last  it  was 

*  Charlevoix. 


454  INDIAN  HOSTILITY. 

found  that  the  number  composing  it  had  increased  to  two  thou- 
sand five  hundred  Spaniards,  and  one  hundred  and  fifty  Germans. 
Don  Diego  de  Mendoza,  brother  to  the  adelantado,  was  appointed 
admiral  of  the  fleet;  Don  Juan  de  Osorio,  an  officer  who  had 
greatly  distinguished  himself  in  Italy,  was  made  commander  of 
the  troops;  and  Don  Juan  de  Ayolas.  was  appointed  alguazil 
major.  Others  went  out  with  official  appointments  from  the 
crown,  while  many  of  high  birth,  among  them  Don  Martin  de 
Yrala,  a  Biscayan  hidalgo,  who  subsequently  made  a  name  in  the 
colony,  were  satisfied  with  merely  volunteering  their  services. 

A  fleet  of  fourteen  ships  with  their  crews,  carrying  seventy-two 
horses,  completed  the  expedition,  which  sailed  from  San  Lucar  in 
August,  1534,  and  after  a  favorable  voyage  entered  La  Plata  in 
January,  1535. 

Ascending  the  river  to  the  Isle  of  San  Gabriel,  the  ships  came 
to  anchor ;  and  on  the  2d  of  February  the  Spaniards  began  their 
first  settlements  on  the  banks  of  the  Eiachuelo,  which  they  called, 
in  honor  of  the  day,  and  as  an  expression  of  their  delight  with  the 
fine  climate,  "  Santa  Maria  de  Buenos  Ayres." 

On  disembarking  the  stores  it  was  found  that,  owing  to  waste, 
bad  management,  and  the  numbers  who  at  the  last  moment  had 
been  permitted  to  join  the  expedition,  the  supplies  intended  for  one 
year  were  nearly  exhausted.  The  savages  of  the  pampas,  at  first 
allured  by  the  presents  of  the  invaders,  brought  them  abundance 
of  provisions ;  but  as  these  were  exhausted,  and  familiarity  dissi- 
pated the  feelings  of  awe  which  their  first  appearance  excited,  or, 
perhaps,  wearied  with  the  task  of  furnishing  food  for  such  num- 
bers, they  retired  some  leagues  from  the  settlement.  There  was 
but  one  alternative — to  oblige  them  by  force  to  continue  what 
they  had  voluntarily  begun. 

Unfortunately  for  the  adventurers,  the  first  movements  to  carry 
out  this  resolution  were  characterized  by  neither  prudence  nor 
sagacity.  The  admiral,  Don  Diego  Mendoza,  who  was  sent  to 
scour  the  country  in  command  of  a  small  body  of  cavalry  and 
three  hundred  foot,  on  the  second  day  discovered  a  large  body  of 
savages  and  essayed  a  parley ;  but,  finding  that  they  declined  to 
listen  to  any  pacific  overtures,  the  admiral,  despising  their  naked 
strength  and  rude  implements  of  war,  rushed  eagerly  to  the  at- 
tack without  noting  their  admirable  position  on  the  borders  of 
a  morass,  in  which  the  foot-soldiers  soon  became  entangled,  and 
were  for  a  time  defenselessly  exposed  to  the  arrows  of  the  Que- 


EXPEDITION  OF  AYOLAS.  455 

randis.  The  cavalry  made  a  bold  charge,  and  the  battle  ended  in 
the  retreat  of  the  savages  leaving  a  thousand  slain,  but  also  with 
a  loss  on  the  part  of  the  Spaniards  of  one  hundred  and  sixty  men, 
including  Don  Diego  Mendoza,  Don  Pedro  de  Guzman,  and  five 
other  gentlemen  of  distinction — a  sacrifice  which  led  to  no  good 
result.  The  Indians,  for  some  months  after  this  battle,  kept  at  a 
distance ;  they  neither  brought  provisions  nor  offered  submission 
to  the  invaders,  who  were  soon  reduced  to  the  most  fearful  straits 
through  starvation  and  sickness. 

Ships  were  ordered  to  the  coast  of  Brazil  for  relief;  and  another 
party,  under  the  command  of  Ayolas,  was  sent  up  the  Parana  for 
the  same  purpose.  The  first  returned  after  poor  success,  but 
reached  Buenos  Ayres  in  time  to  assist  in  defending  it  from  the 
attack  of  twenty  thousand  Indians,  who  boldly  approached  close 
to  the  mud-walls,  over  which  they  threw  bolas  with  matches  at- 
tached, threatening  entire  destruction  to  the  hastily-erected  and 
thatched-roof  huts  within.  Fortunately,  the  guns  of  several  ves- 
sels were  brought  to  bear  on  the  savages,  and  made  such  hav- 
oc that  they  were  forced  to  retreat ;  not,  however,  before  several 
houses  and  vessels  were  destroyed. 

The  return  of  Ayolas  from  the  Parana  with  a  supply  of  maize 
gave  only  temporary  relief.  This  commander,  like  the  great  pi- 
lot, was  so  charmed  with  the  beauty  of  the  upper  country  and  the 
seeming  hospitality  of  the  Timbii  Indians  that  he  left  a  hundred 
men  to  build  a  new  fort.  Corpus  Christi,  near  the  site  of  San  Es- 
piritu,  whither  it  was  resolved  by  the  adelantado  to  remove  the 
remainder  of  his  followers,  who  were  now  too  glad  to  abandon 
the  scene  of  so  much  suffering.  From  Corpus  Christi  Ayolas  was 
again  ordered  to  explore  the  upper  waters  of  the  Paraguay,  and 
ascended  to  latitude  25°  88',  where  he  .was  attacked  by  a  large 
body  of  Payaguas  in  boats,  whom  he  beat  off,  but  with  the  loss 
of  fifteen  of  his  men.  Continuing  his  ascent  for  a  few  leagues, 
but  finding  the  natives  neither  disposed  to  treat  nor  bring  pro- 
visions, Ayolas  determined  to  land  and  give  them  battle.  A  de- 
cisive victory  established  the  superiority  of  the  Spaniards,  and 
the  savages  testified  their  submission,  not  only  by  promising  fealty 
and  obedience,  and  bringing  abundant  supplies  of  provisions,  but 
by  offering  as  presents  a  number  of  young  Indian  girls. 

The  conquerors  commenced,  August  15th,  1536,  on  the  left 
bank,  the  construction  of  a  fortified  house — the  first  of  Asuncion. 
Leaving  in  it  a  small  garrison,  Ayolas  continued  his  exploration 


456  MARTIN  DE  YRALA. 

of  the  river  to  Puerto  de  Candelaria,  in  latitude  21°  05',  where  lie 
disembarked  and  penetrated  into  the  interior,  with  the  hope  of 
reaching  Peru. 

Mendoza  determined  to  return  to  Spain.  Charging  Francisco 
Ruiz  with  the  shipping  and  one  hundred  and  fifty  men  left  at 
Buenos  Ayres,  and  also  with  an  appointment  for  Ayolas  to  act 
as  his  lieutenant,  the  unfortunate  adelantado,  ill  and  broken- 
hearted, sailed  from  La  Plata.  He  died  on  the  passage  home, 
but  with  his  last  breath  urged  those  around  him  to  have  succor 
sent  to  the  suffering  colonists. 

Don  Dominguez  Yrala,  who  had  been  left  at  Candelaria  in 
charge  of  the  vessels  of  Ayolas,  after  waiting  nine  months  with- 
out news  from  his  commander,  was  forced  by  want  of  provisions 
to  return  to  Asuncion.  While  engaged  in  strengthening  that 
settlement,  ships  arrived  with  several  hundred  men  and  supplies 
for  two  years.  About  the  same  time  Francisco  Ruiz  left  Buenos 
Ayres  to  proceed  up  the  river  in  search  of  Ayolas.  Joined  by 
the  garrison  at  Corpus  Christi,  which  he  found  driven  to  great 
straits  by  the  repeated  attacks  of  the  Indians,  he  reached  Asun- 
cion soon  after  the  arrival  of  the  relief  from  Spain.  Thus  the 
whole  of  the  Spaniards  of  La  Plata,  in  all  six  hundred  souls, 
were  assembled  there.  The  fate  of  Ayolas  and  his  men  had 
been  ascertained.  Traversing  the  Chaco  and  Chiquitos,  they  had 
reached  the  borders  of  Peru,  obtained  a  quantity  of  the  precious 
metals,  but  in  returning  were  massacred  by  a  party  of  Payaguas 
Indians  near  Candelaria. 

The  Emperor  had  ordered  the  colonists  to  elect  a  governor 
should  Ayolas  not  return.  Their  choice  fell  upon  Yrala,  who 
was  in  all  due  form  proclaimed  Captain  General  of  the  Rio  de  la 
Plata,  August,  1538.  He  at  once  applied  himself  with  energy 
and  ability  to  strengthening  the  settlement  and  completing  the 
subjugation  of  the  neighboring  Guarani  tribes.  The  lines  of  a 
city  were  drawn,  each  individual  of  the  community  receiving  an 
apportionment  of  land  ;  the  whole  was  surrounded  by  a  palisade. 
Alcaldes  and  police  were  appointed,  municipal  laws  framed,  and 
a  church  and  several  substantial  buildings  for  public  use  erected. 
Asuncion  was  the  first,  and  remained  for  some  time  the  most  con- 
siderable city  of  La  Plata. 

The  Spaniards  congratulated  themselves  upon  their  escape  from 
Buenos  Ayres  to  Paraguay,  that  "  blissful  country,"  as  Muratori 
calls  it,  where  the  climate  was  benign  and  the  aborigines  more 


EXrEDlTION  OF  DE  VACA.  •       457 

docile  and  civilized  than  those  of  the  pampas ;  for  the  Guarani 
industriously  cultivated  their  land  and  raised  large  crops  of 
maize,  cassava,  and  sweet  potatoes,  which,  with  honey,  fish,  fowl, 
and  wild  animals,  gave  them  abundance  of  food.  They  had  also 
a  wild  cotton,  from  which  the  women  wove  such  light  garments 
as  were  needful  in  that  climate. 

Some  of  the  natives  took  refuge  with  the  fiercer  tribes  of  the 
Chaco,  others  made  fruitless  attempts  at  resistance,  and,  about  a 
year  from  the  establishment  of  Asuncion,  a  conspiracy  to  massacre 
the  whites  during  Holy  Week  was  revealed  by  an  Indian  girl. 
The  leaders  were  executed,  and  from  this  time  the  neighboring 
tribes  east  of  the  river  resigned  themselves  submissively  to  their 
fate.  The  women  became  willingly,  indeed  eagerly,  the  wives 
and  concubines  of  the  settlers,  and  a  new  generation  rose,  asserting 
nature's  claims  on  both  races.  The  Guarani  language  was  gener- 
ally spoken,  and  to  this  day  is  more  generally  used  than  Spanish 
in  Paraguay.  • 

After  the  death  of  Mendoza,  Don  Alvaro  Nunez  Cabeza  de 
Vaca,  who  had  been  many  years  prisoner  among  the  Indians  of 
Florida,  volunteered  to  expend  eight  thousand  ducats  in  equip- 
ping an  expedition  for  La  Plata.  His  offer  was  accepted,  and 
with  the  title  and  privileges  previously  accorded  to  the  deceased 
adelantado,  he  sailed  from  San  Lucar,  November  2d,  1540,  with 
four  hundred  men  and  forty-six  horses.  At  St.  Catharine,  March, 
1541,  he  received  the  first  intelligence  of  the  death  of  Ayolas  and 
the  removal  of  the  colonists  to  Asuncion,  and  conceived  the  ex- 
traordinary project  of  reaching  that  place  by  traveling  across  the 
continent.  Sending  his  vessels  round  to  La  Plata  under  the  com- 
mand of  Don  Philip  de  Carceres,  De  Vaca  supplied  himself  with 
beads,  hatchets,  knives,  scissors,  and  other  articles  which  his  ex- 
perience of  Indian  life  had  taught  him  would  be  useful  accesso- 
ries in  a  march  through  a  country  entirely  in  the  possession  of  the 
savages;  and  on  the  2d  November,  1541,  accompanied  by  two 
hundred  and  fifty  men,  and  with  only  twenty  horses — all  that 
had  survived  the  voyage — he  began  this  extraordinary  journey. 

After  toiling  through  the  forests  of  the  mountainous  regions  of 
the  coast,  the  adelantado  entered  upon  a  magnificent  plain,  wa- 
tered by  the  great  river  Curitiba,  and  covered,  as  far  as  the  eye 
could  reach,  with  the  villages  and  fields  of  Indians,  who  received 
him  with  great  hospitality,  supplying  his  party  with  abundance 
of  provisions  in  return  for  trinkets  of  little  value.     Charmed  with 


458   .  SUCCESSIVE  GOVERNORS, 

the  beauty  and  fertility  of  the  land,  De  Vaca  took  possession  of 
it,  in  right  of  discovery,  for  Spain,  and  called  it  Vera,  from  his 
own  family  name.  Continuing  their  journey  without  any  discour- 
aging incidents,  the  Spaniards  reached  Asuncion  after  a  traverse 
of  more  than  a  thousand  miles,  which  was  made  in  one  hundred 
and  thirty  days,  and  with  the  loss  of  only  one  man,  who  was 
drowned  by  the  upsetting  of  a  canoe  in  crossing  the  Parana. 

This  was  undoubtedly  one  of  the  most  extraordinary  exploits 
of  the  conquest  of  La  Plata ;  but  the  administrative  talents  of  the 
new  adelantado  were  not  equal  to  the  courage  or  address  he  had 
shown  in  this  journey,  or  rather  not  equal  to  the  control  of  the 
turbulent  spirits  of  Asuncion.  He  became  involved  in  difficulties 
with  them,  which  ended  in  their  sending  him  home,  after  a  close 
imprisonment  of  ten  months,  upon  charges  of  maladministration. 
During  the  short  period  that  he  ruled  over  Paraguay  De  Vaca 
succeeded  in  impressing  several  of  the  most  warlike  tribes  of  the 
Chaco — the  Guayc^rus  and  Agaces — with  a  due  sense  of  the 
power  of  Spain,  and  energetically  sought  to  accomplish,  what  was 
a  prominent  object  with  all  the  first  governors,  the  opening  of  a 
communication  with  Peru.  He  ascended  the  Paraguay  to  the 
lagoons  of  Xarayes,  but  the  periodical  inundations  obliged  him  to 
retrace  his  course,  after  having  penetrated  some  distance  west. 
It  was  upon  his  return  from  this  expedition,  in  April,  1544,  that 
he  first  encountered  the  open  hostility  of  a  party  who,  during  his' 
absence,  had  assiduously  endeavored  to  undermine  his  authority. 
Taking  advantage  of  the  absence  of  Yrala,  the  most  energetic  and 
popular  man  of  the  colony,  who  had  always  acquiesced  in  the 
measures  of  De  Vaca,  they  dragged  the  adelantado  from  a  bed 
of  sickness,  and  placed  him  in  irons  until  a  vessel  could  be  pre- 
pared to  send  him  to  Spain  for  trial.  The  Council  of  the  Indies, 
to  whom  his  case  was  submitted,  after  keeping  him  in  suspense 
for  nearly  eight  years,  acquitted  De  Vaca  of  the  charges,  but  never 
permitted  him  to  return  to  La  Plata. 

Some  fatality  seemed  to  attend  the  governors  of  this  region. 
Don  Diego  Centino,  who  had  assisted  La  Gasca  in  suppressing  a 
rebellion  in  Peru,  next  received  the  appointment  as  adelantado 
of  La  Plata,  when  on  his  death-bed  at  Chiqusaca.  Don  Juan  de 
Sanabria,  his  successor,  died  while  engaged  in  preparations  for 
his  departure  from  Spain,  and  the  son  of  Sanabria,  who  was  next 
appointed  adelantado,  perished  by  shipwreck  after  entering  the 
waters  of  La  Plata. 


BISHOPKIC  FOUNDED.  459 

The  claims  of  Yrala  could  no  longer  be  overlooked.  Twice, 
subsequent  to  the  death  of  Ayolas  and  the  deposition  of  De  Vaca,  he 
had  been  chosen  governor,  and,  when  superseded,  had  shown  him- 
self a  loyal  subject  by  giving  the  new  adelentado  the  benefit  of 
all  his  great  experience.  He  was  not  without  enemies.  Some 
accused  him  of  abandoning  Ayolas,  without  an  energetic  effort  to 
save  him  from  the  treachery  of  the  Payaguas;  others  asserted 
that  he  cunningly  instigated  the  intrigues  against  De  Vaca ;  but 
there  is  nothing  to  support  these  charges,  and  evidences  of  his 
courage,  administrative  talent,  and  general  popularity  meet  us  on 
all  sides.  He  ascended  the  Paraguay  four  successive  times;  he 
penetrated  to  the  very  borders  of  Peru,  though  not  permitted  by 
La  Gasca  to  enter  the  country ;  and,  returning  from  this  memo- 
rable journey  after  an  absence  of  eighteen  months,  brought  with 
him  twelve  thousand  Indian  prisoners. 

On  the  other  side,  he  had  traversed  Paraguay,  crossed  the  Pa- 
rana above  the  great  falls,  and  ascended  its  left  shore  to  the  Tiete, 
whence  he  overran  the  Province  of  La  Guayra,  and  gave  a  check 
to  the  Mamelucos  by  founding  the  town  Ontiveros. 

The  Portuguese  had  instigated  the  Tupi  Indians  to  make  de- 
scents upon  the  less  warlike  tribes  of  Paraguay  and  carry  off  their 
prisoners  to  be  sold  as  slaves  to  the  dealers  on  the  coast.  Yrala's 
energetic  measures  had  checked  these  iniquitous  proceedings,  and 
from  the  borders  of  Peru  to  the  confines  of  Brazil  he  made  the 
authority  of  Spain  acknowledged  and  respected.  The  appoint- 
ment which  he  received  from  the  crown,  in  1555,  of  adelantado, 
by  the  hands  of  Father  Pedro  de  la  Torre,  the  first  titular  bishop 
of  Paraguay,  was  only  a  well-earned  honor. 

In  a  consistory  held  in  July,  15-17,  Asuncion  was  erected  into 
a  bishopric,  and  Father  Juan  de  Barros,  of  the  order  of  St.  Fran- 
cis, was  appointed  to  it.  On  his  nomination  to  another  see  with- 
out having  entered  upon  the  duties  of  that  in  La  Plata,  Pedro  de 
la  Torre,  of  the  same  order,  was  named  to  succeed  him  and  sailed 
the  following  year.  The  arrival  of  the  bishop  was  anticipated 
with  delight ;  Yrala  and  the  whole  Spanish  population  of  Asun- 
cion, who  went  out  to  meet  him,  knelt  as  he  approached  and  im- 
plored his  benediction.  He  was  accompanied  by  a  retinue  of 
priests  and  friars,  who  were  as  a  "  fountain  in  the  desert  to  the 
poor  colonists,"  thirsty  and  perishing  for  spiritual  refreshment. 

A  series  of  tragical  occurrences  marked  the  discovery  and  settle- 
ment of  La  Plata.     The  bones  of  the  noblest  sons  of  Spain — the 


460  PROGRESS  OF  SETTLEMENT. 

gallant  cavaliers  wlio  had  served  with,  distinction  in  the  Italian 
wars — were  bleaching  upon  its  pampas;  massacres  had  ensan- 
guined its  soil ;  disappointment,  famine,  and  its  consequence,  pes- 
tilence and  death,  had  alone  formed  the  burden  of  reports  to  the 
mother  country.  These  sacrifices  were  unrelieved  by  brilliant 
conquests,  or  by  the  reports  of  auriferous  regions.  Gold !  was  the 
cry  of  the  Spanish  adventurers ;  its  discovery  was  with  them  the 
great -incentive  to  action.  The  name,  La  Plata,  was  alluring,  and 
the  wording  of  Mendoza's  asiento  shows  that  the  band  of  cavaliers 
who  joined  his  expedition  were  perhaps  animated  by  the  expecta- 
tion of  finding  such  empires  as 

"  Rich  Mexico,  the  seat  of  Montezuma, 
And  Cusco,  in  Peru,  the  richer  seat 
Of  Atabalipa,  and  yet  unspoiled 
Guiana,  whose  great  city  Geyron's  sons 
Call  El  Dorado," 

or  royal  captives,  whose  ransom  would  be  rooms  heaped  with  the 
precious  metal  and  gems  of  fabulous  size.  These  hopes  vanished 
like  the  illusions  of  the  mirage.  But  the  climate  was  benign; 
land  and  water  teemed  with  animal  life  ;  there  were  no  inhospita- 
ble elements  to  contend  with,  save  the  hostility  of  the  aborigines ; 
and  when  we  remember  that  a  few  years  later  Cabeza  de  Vaca, 
with  a  comparatively  small  party,  traveled  the  continent  from  the 
Brazilian  coast  to  Asuncion,  and  passed  through  hordes  of  Indians 
unharmed ;  and  that  De  Garay  afterward,  with  so  little  loss,  ob- 
tained a  decided  victory  over  the  Querandis,  when  aided  by  the 
fiercest  pampa  tribes,  we  can  readily  believe  that  the  disastrous 
issue  of  the  first  attempt  to  settle  Buenos  Ayres  arose  from  the  in- 
experience and  mismanagement  of  Mendoza  and  his  chief  ofl&cers. 

But,  thanks  to  the  vigorous  administration  of  a  Biscay  an  hi- 
dalgo, a  social  and  political  fabric  was  at  last  permanently  estab- 
lished north  of  the  confluence  of  the  Parana  and  Paraguay,  and  a 
brighter  day  dawned  for  the  unfortunate  settlers,  who  discovered 
that  in  the  products  of  the  soil  were  their  best  and  only  resource ; 
that  its  fertility,  genial  climate,  and  the  exacted  but  comparatively 
reasonable  labor  of  the  Indians  promised  them  homes  offering  an 
abundance  of  the  comforts  of  life.  As  the  earth  yielded  its  fruits 
with  the  smallest  possible  labor,  there  was  no  temptation  to  an 
abuse  of  aboriginal  labor. 

Policy  as  well  as  duty  dictated  a  considerate  course  toward  the 
Indians ;  and  the  laws  of  Yrala,  who  was  assisted  by  the  counsels 


TKEATMENT  OF  THE  INDIANS.  ^Ql 

of  the  bishop,  for  their  entire  subjugation,  though  vigorous,  were 
made  with  all  due  regard  for  their  physical  and  spiritual  wel- 
fare. Many  voluntarily  offered  themselves  to  the  Spaniards  as 
domestics ;  others,  prisoners  of  war,  were  divided  into  a  class  of 
commanderies,  called  yanaconas ;  each  commander  receiving  the 
control  of  a  certain  number  of  both  sexes  and  all  ages ;  and  in 
accepting  them  he  assumed  the  obligation  to  feed,  clothe,  and  take 
proper  care  of  them  when  sick  or  disabled  from  labor  by  age  or 
infirmity,  and  to  afford  them  due  spiritual  instruction.  An  ex- 
amination was  made  into  their  condition  each  year  by  the  govern- 
ment, and  where  the  Indian  considered  himself  aggrieved  he  had 
the  right  to  be  heard. 

Another  class,  called  mitayos^  was  formed  of  such  tribes  as  had 
capitulated  in  war,  or  voluntarily  offered  their  submission  to  the 
government.  These  were  collected  in  villages,  controlled  by  mu- 
nicipal laws  and  an  alcalde,  generally  selected  from  among  their 
caciques.  But  the  whole  were  subject  to  the  supervision  of  Span- 
ish officers.  In  these  commanderies  all  females,  caciques,  eldest 
sons,  and  children  were  exempt  from  forced  labor;  males  only, 
from  eighteen  to  fifty-one,  being  compelled  to  "work  one-sixth  of 
their  time  for  the  whites.  Even  this  time  was  given  in  rotation. 
The  conquerors  received  this  service  for  two  lives  only,  during 
which  period  the  Indian  could  neither  be  sold  nor  alienated,  and 
at  its  expiration  he  was  free.  In  1612  a  new  code  was  promulgat- 
ed, aboHshing  all  forced  servitude. 

The  Governor  of  Asuncion  extended  his  system  to  Guayra ;  a 
Spanish  force  was  sent  to  take  possession  of  the  country,  and  forty 
thousand  Indian  families  were  divided  into  commanderies.  The 
site  of  Ontiveras  proving  sickly,  the  town  of  Ciudad  Keal  was 
founded  higher  up  the  river.  On  the  Paraguay  settlements  were 
made  in  the  lands  of  the  Xarayes  to  facilitate  communication  with 
Peru ;  and  one  was  attempted — though  afterward  abandoned  in 
consequence  of  the  hostility  of  the  Charruas  Indians — on  the  east 
side  of  La  Plata  at  its  confluence  with  the  St.  Juan,  nearly  oppo- 
site to  the  site  of  Buenos  Ayres.  In  short  the  conquest  of  all 
Paraguay  was  completed. 

While  Yrala  was  taking  advantage  of  this  happy  healthful  con- 
dition of  affairs,  to  devote  his  energies  to  the  embellishment  and 
extension  of  the  capital,  Asuncion,  he  was  carried  off  by  a  fever 
(1557)  at  the  ripe  age  of  seventy,  and  lamented  by  the  whole 
population,  aboriginal  and  Spanish.     Twenty  years  of  his  life  had 


462  JUAN  DE  GARAY. 

been  spent  in  a  series  of  enterprises  for  the  conquest  and  settle- 
ment of  the  country.  Daring,  generous,  kind  to  his  people,  full 
of  resources,  of  extraordinary  personal  prowess — displayed  on  one 
occasion  by  slaying  twelve  Payaguas  Indians  who  at  once  attack- 
ed him — Yrala  is  justly  considered  one  of  the  ablest  and  most  for- 
tunate of  the  conquistadores. 

After  the  death  of  this  governor  Paraguay  was  distracted  for  a 
long  time  by  the  dissensions  of  parties  who  were  striving  to  ob- 
tain a  controlling  influence  in  the  affairs  of  the  colony ;  but  the 
rivalries  of  factions  rather  stimulated  than  crushed  the  indomita- 
ble spirit  of  enterprise  that  characterized  the  Spaniards  of  that 
age,  and  towns  and  cities  rose  in  the  most  distant  corners  of  the 
basin  of  La  Plata.  In  1560  Chaves  founded  Santa  Cruz  de  la 
Sierra,  the  farthest  settlement  northwest  of  the  Paraguay;  and 
after  the  conquest  of  the  Querandis  of  Buenos  Ayres,  Spanish  do- 
minion was  established  from  the  mouth  of  the  Plata  to  Parana  on 
the  Pacific  Ocean. 

In  1557  Don  Juan  de  Garay,  while  founding  a  settlement  at 
Santa  Fd,  in  the  vicinity  of  Cabot's  old  fort,  San  Espiritu,  heard 
of  the  arrival  on  the  coast  of  what  is  now  the  Banda  Oriental  of 
the  adelentado  Don  Juan  Ortiz  de  Zarate,  who,  having  received 
the  appointment  from  the  Viceroy  of  Peru,  had  visited  Spain  for 
the  purpose  of  obtaining  its  confirmation.  He  had  succeeded  in 
his  mission,  and  sailed  in  1572  with  nearly  five  hundred  volun- 
teers, half  of  whom  died  before  reaching  La  Plata  from  the  priva- 
tions and  hardships  of  the  voyage,  while  the  remainder,  having 
landed  on  the  east  coast,  were  surrounded  by  the  warlike  Char- 
ruas.  De  Garay,  fighting  his  way  through  hostile  tribes,  at  last 
succeeded  in  giving  assistance  to  the  adelantado  and  his  besieged 
party,  who,  under  his  guidance,  reached  Paraguay  in  safety.  Za- 
rate died  in  1575,  a  few  months  after  his  arrival  at  Asuncion, 
but  testified  his  gratitude  to  the  bold  De  Garay  by  leaving  him 
guardian  of  his  only  daughter — who,  in  right  of  the  law  confer- 
ring the  adelantasgo  for  two  lives,  was  his  successor — and  appoint- 
ing him  captain  general  and  lieutenant  governor  during  her  mi- 
nority. The  honest  zeal  displayed  by  the  lieutenant  governor 
for  the  welfare  of  Zarate's  daughter,  his  success  in  reconciling 
many  rival  parties,  and  the  energy  with  which  he  promoted  the 
general  interests  of  the  people,  proved  that  he  was  in  every  way 
worthy  of  the  trust  reposed  in  him  by  the  deceased  adelantado. 

After  restoring  peace  among  the  colonists  and  successfully  car- 


FOUNDING  OF  BUENOS  AYRES.  463 

rying  out  many  of  Yrala's  original  projects  for  extending  Spanish 
authority  over  neighboring  countries,  by  forming  reductions  and 
founding  villages  and  towns,  De  Garay,  hearing  that  the  Pampa 
Indians  were  distracted  by  tribal  dissensions,  thought  it  a  propi- 
tious time  to  descend  the  river  and  found  a  town  near  the  mouth 
of  La  Plata.  The  frequent  disasters  to  vessels  from  Spain  had 
shown  the  absolute  necessity  of  a  port  where  ships  and  boats  as- 
cending and  descending  the  river  might  find  a  safe  harbor,  or  rest 
and  refreshment  after  a  long  voyage.  He  effected  a  landing  with- 
out opposition  near  the  Eiachuelo ;  selected  a  site  in  the  vicinity 
of  Mendoza's  former  settlement  for  the  new  city,  which  was  com- 
menced on  the  festival  of  the  Holy  Trinity,  1580,  with  the  name 
of  "  Cuidad  de  la  Santissima  Trinidad."  For  the  port  the  name 
given  by  Mendoza,  of  "  Santa  Maria  de  Buenos  Ayres,"  was  re- 
tained. 

It  must  not  be  supposed,  however,  that  the  works  of  the  town 
were  continued  without  molestation  from  the  savages.  Though 
absent  when  the  expedition  first  arrived,  the  Querandis,  when 
they  learned  of  this  .fresh  invasion  of  the  white  man,  assembled 
all  the  tribes  in  alliance  with  them  from  far  and  near;  and,  led 
by  Taboba,  the  greatest  warrior  of  the  country,  bore  down  upon 
the  founders  of  the  new  city.  De  Garay's  men  boldly  sallied  forth 
from  their  intrenchments,  and  a  fierce  sanguinary  battle  followed, 
the  savages  only  giving  way  when  they  saw  the  fall  of  their  chief. 
They  then  fled  in  every  direction,  closely  pursued  by  the  Span- 
iards ;  and  so  great  was  the  slaughter,  that  the  scene  of  the  conflict, 
near  the  Barracas,  upon  the  Eiachuelo,  is  to  this  day  known  as 
Matanza^  or  the  "  Killing  Ground."  The  lands  on  the  river  side, 
from  Buenos  Ayres  to  Baradero  on  the  Parana,  with  the  neigh- 
boring Indians,  who  soon  gave  in  their  submission,  were  divided 
among  sixty -five  of  De  Garay's  followers. 

For  three  years  the  governor  continued  to  occupy  himself 
with  great  energy  in  strengthening  the  new  settlement  and  regu- 
lating its  affairs ;  and  before  his  return  to  Paraguay  he  had  the 
satisfaction  of  dispatching  a  vessel  to  Spain  with  an  account  of 
his  conquest ;  but,  above  all,  freighted  with  a  cargo  of  the  first 
products  ever  exported  from  La  Plata — hides  and  sugar ;  the  first 
as  an  evidence  of  the  extraordinary  adaptation  of  the  pampa 
country  for  the  raising  of  horned  cattle,  the  original  stock  having 
only  been  introduced  thirty  years  before. 

In  returning  to  Asuncion  in  1553,  De  Garay,  having  incautious- 


464  SEPARATION  FROM  PARAGUAY. 

\j  ventured  to  sleep  ashore,  near  the  site  of  San  Espiritu,  was 
murdered  by  a  party  of  Minuas.  His  death  was  greatly  deplored 
throughout  Paraguay,  and  his  name  is  associated  with  that  of 
Yrala  as  one  of  the  bravest,  discreetest,  and  most  beneficent  of  the 
first  rulers  of  that  country.  From  the  permanent  establishment 
of  the  town  of  Buenos  Ayres  the  conquest  of  La  Plata  may  be 
regarded  as  achieved,  the  foundation  of  towns  which  still  exist  in 
its  various  provinces  having  previously  been  made.  But  for 
many  years  the  colonists  were  disturbed  by  the  open  hostility  or 
treacherous  attacks  of  the  Indians. 

Owing  to  the  rapid  increase  of  European  population,  all  the 
country  south  of  the  confluence  of  the  Paraguay  and  Parana  was 
in  1620  separated  from  Paraguay,  and  the  government  of  the 
"  Eio  de  la  Plata"  established,  with  Buenos  Ayres  for  its  capital. 
At  the  same  period  Pope  Paul  V.,  at  the  request  of  the  Spanish 
sovereign,  Philip  III.,  made  it  the  seat  of  a  bishopric. 


THE  JESUITS. 


465 


IGNATIUS   LOYOLA. 

CHAPTEE  XXYIL 

Arrival  of  the  Jesuits  in  South  America. — A  pious  Fraud. — Early  Missionaries. — 
St.  Francis  Solano. — Chaco  Indians. — Fathers  Cataldino  and  Marcerata  proceed 
to  Guayra. — Foundation  of  Loreto. — St.  Ignatius,  St.  Thomas,  and  the  twelye 
Missions. — Establishment  and  Destruction  of  the  Uruguay  Reductions. — Mame- 
lucos  of  St.  Paul. — Persecutions  of  the  Indians. — Attack  upon  Guayra. — Eetreat 
of  the  twelve  Thousand  to  the  Salto  Grande. — Descent  of  the  Falls. — Peace  at 
last. — Renewal  of  the  Uruguay  Reductions. — Bickerings  between  Ecclesiastics 
and  Laymen. — Retreat  of  another  twelve  thousand. — Fathers  De  Montoya  and 
Tano  are  dispatched  to  the  Continent :  their  Missions  are  crowned  with  Suc- 
cess.— Fire-arms  and  papal  Briefs. — Another  Attack  of  the  Mamelucos. — Battle 
of  Acaray. — Triumph  of  the  Reduction  Indians. — Don  Bernardin  de  Cardenas. — 
Excommunications. — Penitence  of  the  Governor. — Deposition  of  the  Bishop. — 
Return  to  Asuncion. — The  Dictator. — Cardenas  is  relieved  of  his  assumed  Au- 
thority and  retires  to  La  Plata. — Defeat  of  the  Mamelucos  and  Guaycurus. — 
Services  of  the  Reduction  Indians. 

The  Frencli  soldier  who,  at  the  siege  of  Pampeluna,  brought 
to  the  ground  its  gallant  defender,  little  thought  what  a  work  he 

80 


^ 


466  THE  JESUITS  IN  LA  PLATA. 

was  consummating.  The  wounded,  disabled,  suffering  founder  of 
the  Jesuit  order,  while  perusing  the  holy  and  miraculous  life  of 
the  Savior,  instead  of  the  adventures  of  knights-errant,  could 
have  had  but  a  faint  consciousness  how  deeply  the  new  spirit  was 
moving  him,  and  how  perfect  a  regeneration  he  was  about  to  im- 
part, not  only  to  his  own  inner  being,  but  to  thousands  and  ten 
thousands  of  God's  unredeemed  creatures.  But  the  same  voice 
that  arrested  the  persecutor  on  his  way  to  Damascus  here  spoke 
through  the  pages  of  Holy  Writ,  and  converted  a  brave  soldier 
and  his  few  followers  into  the  most  dauntless  champions  of  Chris- 
tianity the  world  has  seen  since  the  days  of  Paul.  And  thus  Ig- 
natius Loyola  founded  an  order,  probably  the  most  complete  and 
united  in  itself  on  record,  but  into  the  history  of  which  enter  dif- 
ferences, divisions,  and  disputes,  inviting  either  to  the  partisan  who 
would  unite  in  the  enthusiasm  or  bitterness  of  one  cause  or  the 
other,  or  to  the  impartial  writer  who  would  censure  or  applaud  in 
an  equal  meastire  of  justice.  For  where  one  has  found  pious  zeal, 
unwearying  devotion,  and  every  worldly  sacrifice  wherewith  to 
stamp  an  imperishable  glory  upon  the  deeds  of  Loyola's  sons,  an- 
other has  presented  a  picture  of  selfish  designs,  base  intrigues,  se- 
cret plottings,  and  inordinate  ambition. 

That  portion  of  the  history  of  the  Jesuits  to  be  considered  here 
conveys  a  very  favorable  sense  of  the  mission  marked  out  for  many 
of  the  fathers.  Whatever  their  European  wranglings  may  have 
been,  they  scarcely  extend  to  the  reductions  of  South  America. 
How  low  soever  may  have  been  their  court  intrigue,  according  to 
writers  well  informed  or  not,  in  the  supplanting  of  ministers  and 
strife  for  offices  of  power,  a  lofty  calling  awaited  the  Jesuits  in 
the  vast  region  of  Paraguay.  Pascal,  Pombal,  Choiseul,  Aranda, 
Louis  XY.,  Madame  de  Pompadour,  Charles  III.,  and  the  like,  may 
have  applied  all  the  asperities  of  their  respective  languages  to  de- 
preciate the  Jesuit  influence,  but  on  this  side  of  the  Atlantic  their 
work  was  holy. 

Montesquieu,  in  speaking  of  the  company  of  Jesus,  says :  "It 
is  to  its  glory  to  have  been  the  first  to  associate  in  those  regions 
the  idea  of  religion  with  that  of  humanity ;  in  repairing  the  devas- 
tations of  the  Spaniards  it  undertook  to  cure  one  of  the  greatest 
sores  that  have  ever  infected  the  human  race."* 

Yoltaire  admits,  that,  "  The  establishment  in  Paraguay  of  the 

*  Esprit  des  Lois,  liv.  iv.,  chap.  vi. 


PIOUS  FRAUDS.  467 

Spanisli  Jesuits  alone  seems,  in  some  respects,  to  be  the  triumph 
of  humanity."* 

Then  let  the  means  serve  the  end,  and  though  the  fathers  may 
at  times  be  found  erring  from  a  path  strictly  scrupulous,  let  it  be 
borne  in  mind  that  it  is  for  purposes  not  unworthy  of  good  men. 

About  half  a  century  from  the  discovery  of  the  western  con- 
tinent, and  nine  years  after  the  followers  of  Loyola  had  been  or- 
ganized into  a  religious  body,  a  few  Portuguese  Jesuits  accom- 
panying the  expedition  of  Don  Thomas  de  Soza,  Governor  of 
Brazil,  landed  at  Bahia  de  todos  los  Santos.  They  were  the  first 
of  that  order  destined  to  fulfill  the  duties  of  the  missionary  among 
the  aborigines  of  South  America  ;  and,  faithful  to  their  vocation, 
they  were  soon  engaged  in  the  arduous  task  of  converting  them  to 
Christianity.  These  fathers  are  supposed  to  have  facilitated  their 
labors  by  a  pious  fraud.  They  came  as  the  descendants  of  St. 
Thomas,  the  apostle  of  Christ,  as  chosen  delegates  to  proclaim 
eternal  peace  and  happiness  to  all  those  who  would  bow  to  the 
cross  and  come  within  the  pale  of  the  great  Mother  Church. 

The  supernatural  and  the  marvelous  are  alluring  to  minds 
darkened  by  ignorance  and  superstition.  Savonarola  compre- 
hended the  springs  of  human  impulse  when  he  declared  to  a  big- 
oted multitude  that  he  was  gifted  with  something  more  than  the 
ordinary  powers  of  man,  for  strange  was  the  devotion  of  his  fol- 
lowers even  to  the  fiery  ordeal.  So  also  did  the  Indians  believe 
that  St.  Thomas,  the  subject  of  every  missionary's  discourse,  had 
assumed  the  guardianship  of  the  land.  So  did  they  credit  and 
adopt,  as  one  always  familiar  to  them,  the  tradition  to  which  the 
Jesuitic  teachings  gave  rise — that  St.  Thomas  had  landed  on  the 
coast  of  Brazil,  journeyed  throughout  the  vast  country  of  the  Grua- 
rani  race,  preaching,  cross  in  hand,  Christianizing  savages,  and  tam- 
ing wild  beasts ;  then,  that  he  traversed  the  grassy  deserts  of  the 
Grand  Chaco  ;  and  finally  crossed  the  Andes  into  Peru,  when  he 
must  have  descended,  like  the  setting  sun,  into  the  Pacific,  as  we 
hear  of  him  no  farther.  There  was  still  another  mystery  con- 
nected with  this  mission  of  the  apostle.  It  was  taught  and  be- 
lieved, that  the  cross  he  bore  had  been  hidden  by  some  uncon- 
verted Indians  in  a  lake  near  Chiquisaca,  and  there  found  by  a 
Padre  Sarmiento.f 

*  Essai  sur  les  Mceurs. 

t  Don  Pedro  Alvear,  commissioner  appointed  for  adjusting  the  boundary  line 
between  Spanish  America  and  Brazil. 


468  ST.  FRANCIS  SOLANO. 

Thus  the  Jesuits  began  their  early  teachings.-  Physically,  mor- 
ally, and  spiritually  dauntless,  their  boldness  of  speech  was  soon 
made  practical  in  an  equal  boldness  of  action ;  and  so  early  did 
they  succeed  in  engaging  the  reverence  of  the  natives  that,  from 
the  outset,  not  all  the  panoply  of  Mars  could  have  given  them 
such  sense  of  security  as  did  their  humble  garb  and  sandal-shod 
feet.  A  way  was  forced  into  the  depths  of  the  forest  that  stretch- 
ed westward,  and  in  this  direction  they  pursued  a  perilous  course 
until  the  Parana  rolled  majestically  before  them,  and  the  hardy 
fathers  found  themselves  in  Spanish  territory,  brought  into  con- 
tact with  the  settlers  of  La  Plata,  who  received  them  with  all  the 
marks  of  consideration  their  good  intentions  could  claim. 

We  read  much  of  the  spiritual  thirstings  of  the  first  conquista- 
dores.  The  discovery  of  Peruvian  gold  never  elicited  more  joy- 
ous demonstrations  than  the  arrival,  during  the  early  stages  of 
the  conquest,  of  a  few  ecclesiastics.  The  slackened  zeal  of  mod- 
ern times  conveys  no  sense  of  the  religious  spirit  of  that  age, 
and  the  Church  was  careful  to  make  an  early  recognition  of  this 
devotion  in  the  elevation  of  Asuncion  to  the  dignity  of  a  bishop- 
ric, an  honor  conferred  upon  the  rising  capital  of  La  Plata  by 
Pope  Paul  III.  Indeed  similar  appointments  were  soon  after 
made  for  Tucuman,  Cordova,  and  several  other  cities  of  New  Spain 
noted  for  their  fervency. 

Yet,  notwithstanding  the  establishment  of  these  bishoprics,  they 
were  at  first  but  feebly  sustained.  Very  few  of  the  Jesuits  who 
had  landed  on  the  South  American  Continent  had  at  that  period 
reached  this  interior  portion  of  it,  and  as  missionaries  their  want 
was  severely  felt.  The  ecclesiastics  who  administered  religious 
instruction  and  the  holy  mysteries  in  the  provinces  of  Paraguay* 
up  to  the  latter  part  of  the  16th  century  were  mainly  of  the  Fran- 
ciscan order ;  men  of  zeal,  but  endowed  with  little  of  the  nerve 
and  indomitable  perseverance  so  conspicuous  in  the  Jesuit,  whose 
advent  in  these  times  was  soon  to  be  the  dawn  of  a  new  religious 
era. 

Among  the  Franciscans  the  most  deservingly  prominent  is  St. 
Francis  Solano.  He  came  from  Peru  for  the  purpose  of  convert- 
ing the  wild  nomads  of  the  Chaco,  a  project  attended  with  no  lit- 
tle success,  notwithstanding  its  uninviting  prospects.  Solano's 
career,  according  to  Charlevoix,  was  that  of  "  a  saint  whose  zeal 
knew  no  bounds,  and  whom  God  invested  with  the  gift  of  mira- 

*  The  name  of  Paraguay  was  then  given  to  the  whole  of  La  Plata. 


THE  JESUITS  AND  THE  INDIANS.  459 

cles  to  sucli  a  degree  that  the  inliabitants  considered  him  as  some- 
thing more  than  a  mortal  being."  His  name  grew  into  a  watch- 
word to  those  who  languished  in  the  service  of  the  Church,  and 
many  flocked  eagerly  to  his  banner ;  but  while  unceasingly  en- 
gaged in  this  holy  work  he  was  recalled  b}^  his  superiors  from  the 
field  of  his  labors.*  The  soul  of  the  enterprise  for  redeeming  the 
tribes  of  the  Chaco,  its  existence  ceased  at  his  departure,  and  a 
temporary  check  was  given  to  any  further  advancement.  The 
Bishop  of  Tucuman,  however,  thought  to  give  a  new  impulse  to 
the  missionary  work,  and  secure  the  conversions  Solano  had  al- 
ready made.  There  were  evidences  of  a  rich  spiritual  harvest 
which  needed  but  the  reapers,  and  he  judiciously  concluded  that 
more  faithful  and  more  successful  instruments  could  not  be  found 
than  the  members  of  the  Jesuit  order.  The  experience  of  thirty 
years  had  shown  that  they  alone  were  in  every  way  fitted  for  the 
hardships  and  reverses  of  a  missionary's  life. 

So  the  bishop  sought  in  Brazil  and  Peru  this  much-needed  as- 
sistance, imploring  them  in  somewhat  vehement  style,  "by  the 
entrails  of  Jesus  Christ"  to  grant  the  request.  There  was  no  dif- 
ficulty in  complying.  Ee-enforcements  from  both  countries  arrived 
in  1586  to  appease  the  religious  hunger  of  the  land,  the  fathers 
from  Peru  settling  in  Santiago,  then  a  town  of  about  2500  inhab- 
itants, and  those  from  Brazil  entering  Cordova  amid  acclamations 
that  testified  to  their  heartfelt  welcome.  The  gushing  of  water 
from  the  rock  could  not  have  been  received  more  gratefully  than 
the  arrival  of  these  Jesuits.  They  came  as  "  angels  from  heaven," 
says  a  writer  of  their  order,  hailed  by  the  shouts  of  the  people 
and  the  Te  Deum  of  the  Church. 

But  there  are  schemes  and  designs  lurking  beneath  the  surface 
which  gradually  develop  themselves.  The  Jesuit's  vocation  be- 
gins to  stand  out  prominently  before  the  world,  and  it  is  to  ben- 
efit the  native,  whose  interests  are  early  and  faithfully  taken  to 
heart.  This  course,  as  politic  as  just  and  generous,  soon  proved  a 
source  of  exacerbated  feeling  between  the  Spanish  population  and 
the  fathers. 

The  various  tribes  bordering  on  the  Chaco  had  bidden  fair  to 
receive  the  baptism  of  the  Church  under  the  teachings  of  Solano, 
but  their  hostile  disposition  was  found  to  permit  of  little  success 
after  his  departure.  Living  mostly  on  horseback,  subsisting  by 
the  chase,  and  continually  wandering  from  one  portion  of  the 

*  Charlevoix,  vol.  i.,  p.  194. 


470  Opposition  of  the  colonists. 

country  to  the  other,  each  lord  of  all  he  surveyed  for  the  time  be- 
ing, they  could  not  be  led  to  settle  quietly  into  a  religious  com- 
munity. Other  more  favorable  localities  were  sought  and  discov- 
ered. The  tribes  east  of  the  Parana  and  Paraguay,  supposed  to 
be  of  Peruvian  origin,  and  especially  those  in  the  neighborhood 
of  Asuncion,  were  found  to  be  more  docile  and  in  the  enjoyment 
of  comparative  civilization.  The  attention  of  the  fathers  was 
therefore  given  to  this  quarter  of  the  continent  as  the  most  open 
to  the  spiritual  conquests  they  had  been  so  long  anticipating. 
The  Province  of  Guayra  was  looked  upon  as  possessing  inviting 
prospects ;  thither  the  chosen  fathers,  Ortega  and  Fields,  the  former 
a  Portuguese,  the  latter  a  Scotchman,  directed  their  steps.  Pro- 
ceeding to  Ciudad  Eeal — founded  first  in  1557  by  Eui  Diaz  Mel- 
garejo,  under  command  of  Yrala — they  boldly  advanced  into  the 
wildest  districts  of  the  country,  and  in  a  short  time  gathered 
around  them  "  two  hundred  thousand  Indians  quite  ripe  for  the 
kingdom  of  God."*  Charlevoix  must  be  in  error  with  regard  to 
the  number,  but  they  doubtless  laid  extensive  foundations  for  the 
missions  that  ere  long  dotted  the  province. 

The  Jesuit  name  began  in  the  mean  time  to  grow  in  favor 
among  the  natives,  for  most  zealously  did  the  order  espouse  their 
interests,  in  doing  which  it  could  but  incur  the  enmity  of  the 
Spaniards.  The  larger  portion  of  the  population  regarded  it  as  a 
right,  a  privilege  in  virtue  of  conquest,  that  they  should  enslave 
the  Indians  or  force  them  to  their  service,  and  would  compromise 
for  nothing  less.  The  fathers,  to  diminish  this  servitude,  but  un- 
doubtedly aiming  also  to  establish  church  communities  which 
should  be  separate  from  and  independent  of  the  cities,  reasoned 
against  this  right.  Thus  there  was  soon  sufficient  ground  for  the 
growth  of  a  fature  contest.  The  two  parties  had  been  for  some 
time  nursing  this  enmity,  and  on  the  arrival  of  the  "  Provincial" 
did  not  hesitate  to  make  open  hostile  advances  the  one  against 
the  other. 

It  was  in  1607  that  the  Father  Diego  de  Torres,  of  Rome,  at- 
tended by  fifteen  clerical  assistants,  arrived  in  South  America  in 
the  quality  of  Provincial  of  Peru  and  Chili.  He  immediately 
placed  himself  at  the  head  of  those  who  had  opposed  the  cruelties 
at  all  times  exercised  over  the  natives.  He  made  it  his  chief  aim 
and  duty  to  alleviate  their  sufferings  and  to  put  an  end  to  the 
bloody  strifes  that  had  year  after  year  been  waging  between  the 

*  Charlevoix,  vol.  i.,  p.  155. 


DIEGO  DE  TORRES.  471 

conquerors  and  tlie  conquered.  Oftentimes  the  taunted  spirit  of 
the  latter  had  goaded  them  on  to  some  desperate  act  of  revenge, 
or  carried  fire  and  destruction  into  infant  settlements.  This,  too, 
the  fathers  sought  to  check. 

"  Nor  would,  with  all  their  power,  the  King  of  Spain, 
Austrian,  or  Bourbon,  have  at  last  availed 
This  torrent  of  destruction  to  restrain, 
And  save  a  people  every  where  assailed 
By  men  before  whose  face  their  courage  quailed, 
But  for  the  virtuous  agency  of  those 
Who,  with  the  cross  alone,  when  arms  had  failed, 
Achieved  a  peaceful  triumph  o'er  the  foes 
And  gave  that  weary  land  the  blessings  of  repose."* 

The  Provincial  crossed  from  Peru  into  the  country  now  known 
as  the  Argentine  Confederation,  passing  through  Jujuy,  Salta, 
Santiago,  and  visited  all  the  important  cities  west  of  the  Para- 
guay. His  arrival  was  every  where  hailed  with  the  most  enthu- 
siastic demonstrations,  and  every  grateful  acknowledgment  was 
lavished  upon  him.  But  even  the  limited  number  of  individu- 
als composing  his  retinue,  at  first  a  subject  of  regret,  was  soon 
found  sufficient  to  create  distrust,  and  indeed  not  a  little  startle 
the  people  of  Tucuman  by  the  lenient  and  indulgent  course  they 
proposed  pursuing  toward  the  much-aggrieved  Indians.  It  was 
not  expected  that  De  Torres  should  advocate  such  a  cause,  and 
it  proved  too  much  at  variance  with  their  preconceived  ideas  of 
the  treatment  due  to  these  people  to  at  all  elevate  the  Provin- 
cial in  their  good  opinion.  When,  upon  one  occasion,  he  gave 
pecuniary  compensation  to  a  number  of  native  laborers  who  had 
assisted  in  the  erection  of  a  church  at  Cordova,  it  was  considered 
a  grievous  offense,  and  met  only  with  the  most  vehement  clamors 
against  its  injustice. 

The  Provincial,  having  made  by  such  examples  many  enemies 
on  the  west  of  the  Paraguay,  found  his  way  to  Asuncion  ;  but  a 
rumor  of  his  preachings  had  preceded  him,  and  roused  a  by  no 
means  amicable  spirit  in  his  behalf  Such  indeed  were  the  hostile 
feelings  entertained  toward  him,  that  he  entered  the  city  only  by 
the  intercession  of  the  governor  and  bishop. 

These  later  demonstrations  signally  failed  in  their  desired  ef- 
fects; for,  about  this  time,  that  is,  toward  the  latter  part  of  1609, 
new  instructions  were  received  from  his  Spanish  Majesty  which 
entirely  conformed  with  the  views  of  the  Provincial.     Commands 

*  Southey  :  Tale  of  Paraguay. 


472  LABORS  OF  THE  JESUITS. 

for  the  conversion  and  liberation  of  the  Indians  were  so  urgently 
conveyed  that  the  authorities  of  Asuncion  deemed  it  proper  to 
immediately  comply,  although  they  had  not  unfrequently  disre- 
garded such  royal  ordinances,  trusting  for  security  in  their  dis- 
tant and  isolated  position.  To  carry  into  effect  the  new  decree, 
particular  attention  was,  as  heretofore,  given  to  the  Guarani  race, 
stretching  over  the  immense  tract  of  country  lying  between  the 
Parana  and  Paraguay  Kivers  and  the  Atlantic  Ocean,  and  resem- 
bling in  nothing  the  warlike  Charuas  and  Abipones  in  the  vicinity 
of  the  western  cities. 

Lewis  de  Bolanos,  a  disciple  of  Solano  and  translator  of  the 
Catechism  into  the  Guarani  language,  was  among  the  first  actively 
engaged  in  the  conversion  of  these  natives.  He  had  confined 
himself,  however,  to  the  neighborhood  of  Asuncion.  The  Pro- 
vincial proposed  to  extend  the  benign  influence  of  the  Church 
into  more  interior  regions,  to  immediately  follow  in  the  footsteps 
of  Ortega  and  Fields,  and  reap  the  reward  that  seemed  there  to 
await  them.  For  this  duty  were  chosen  Fathers  Cataldino  and 
Marcerata.  They  consented  to  accept  it  under  certain  conditions, 
and  these  conditions  embodied  the  policy  of  the  Jesuits  :  they 
must  be  permitted  to  build  churches  and  incorporate  towns  inde- 
pendent of  all  Spanish  influence  or  control,  and  the  privilege 
should  moreover  be  extended  to  them  of  opposing  in  the  king's 
name  all  those  who  should  attempt  to  reduce  the  natives  to  per- 
sonal servitude.  These  demands  were  finally  acceded  to,  though 
at  first  somewhat  ungraciously  received. 

The  destination  of  the  fathers  was  the  Province  of  Guayra,  at 
that  time,  as  now,  after  a  lapse  of  two  centuries  and  a  half,  very 
little  known.  We  can  readily  imagine  that  there  were  many  im- 
pediments of  a  very  serious  character  in  the  journey  of  these  two 
Jesuits.  Though  passing  through  a  country  neither  mountainous 
nor  inhospitable,  as  regards  climate,  it  presented  other  features  of 
obstruction  :  its  thickly -grown  and  trackless  forests,  its  broad  in- 
undating rivers,*  and  hordes  of  uncivilized  Indians,  were  alone 
sufficient  to  daunt  the  boldest  travelers.  It  may  be  noticed  at 
this  point  that  intrigue  and  cunning  are  words  familiarly  and  un- 
hesitatingly associated  with  the  Jesuit;  but  nothing  is  hazarded 
in  saying  that  in  their  labors  among  the  La  Plata  savages  an  en- 
ergy, piety,  zeal,  and  perseverance  worthy  of  the  best  cause  are 

*  Several  of  Ortega's  companions,  when  traveling  among  the  Guarani,  perished 
by  one  of  these  sudden  overflows  of  water,  and  the  father  barely  saved  his  own  life. 


THEIR  PREACHING.  473 

eminently  conspicuous.  It  may  be  safely  added  that  no  historical 
church  order  can  boast  among  its  members  of  such  activity,  devo- 
tion, and  self-sacrifice  as  have  distinguished  the  sons  of  Loyola 
in  their  missionary  labors  over  the  entire  surface  of  the  globe. 
There  was  in  this  order  that  unity  of  thought  and  action  which 
gave  its  every  step  an  irresistible  momentum — a  secret,  invisible, 
but  iron  link,  that  bound  all  its  parts  into  unison  and  harmony. 
The  same  spirit  moved  and  had  its  being  in  the  Jesuit,  whether  as 
keeper  of  kings'  consciences  and  ruler  in  the  councils  of  nations ; 
whether  superintending  the  observatory  at  Eome  or  that  of  Pekin, 
in  the  mandarin's  garb ;  whether  in  Japan  or  Paraguay ;  whether 
engaged  in  heated  controversy  with  Pascal  and  Pombal,  or  devot- 
ing a  life  to  the  savages  of  Africa  and  America,  in  explanation 
of  the  signs,  symbols,  and  mysteries  of  the  Holy  Church,  of  the 
rotation  of  the  heavenly  .bodies  and  the  wonders  of  the  universe. 
Fathers  Cataldino  and  Marcerata  were  equally  in  their  proper 
sphere,  whether  in  the  thickets  and  woods  of  Paraguay  and  the 
pampas  of  the  Chaco  or  at  the  court  of  Madrid.  A  buoyant  un- 
tiring zeal  bore  them  on,  as  it  did  their  predecessors  and  their 
successors,  in  whatever  duties  and  charges  fell  to  their  share, 

Ciudad  Eeal  and  Villa  Rica  lay  in  their  way,  but  the  inhabit- 
tants  of  these  two  towns  had  grown  as  sensitive  as  the  rest  of  the 
Spanish  population  in  the  country  with  regard  to  the  encroach- 
ments of  the  fathers  upon  their  imaginary  rights,  and  so  with- 
drew their  previously  proffered  assistance.  They  found  little  or 
no  sympathy  among  their  own  countrymen,  but,  thankful  that 
they  were  held  in  better  esteem  by  the  natives,  they  pushed  on  for 
Guayra ;  journeying  by  land  until  reaching  the  Paranapane,  they 
embarked  upon  this  river  (a  beautiful  and  well-wooded  stream), 
and  ascended  to  the  mouth  of  the  Pirape,  one  of  its  tributaries. 
Like  a  vision,  they  now  beheld  the  banks  crowded  with  Indians 
in  expectation  of  their  arrival,  and  prepared  to  welcome  them  in 
their  midst.     Drawing  their  boats  to  shore,  they  landed.* 

Entering  into  an  explanation  of  their  mission,  no  difficulties  were 
experienced  in  reconciling  the  natives  to  the  destiny  thus  shaped 
out  for  them.     And 

"Then  the  black-robe  chief,  the  prophet, 
Told  his  message  to  the  people — 
Told  the  purport  of  his  mission ; 
Told  them  of  the  Virgin  Mary, 


*  Charlevoix,  vol.  i.,  p.  247. 


474  THE  FIRST    MISSION. 

And  her  blessed  Son,  the  Saviour, 

How  in  distant  lands  and  ages 

He  had  lived  on  earth  as  vee  do  ; 

How  He  fasted,  prayed,  and  labored ; 

How  the  Jews,  the  tribe  accursed. 

Mocked  Him,  scourged  Him,  crucified  Him; 

How  He  rose  from  where  they  laid  Him, 

Walked  again  with  his  disciples, 

And  ascended  into  heaven." 

No  doubt 

"  The  chiefs  made  answer,  saying  : 
We  have  listened  to  your  message, 
We  have  heard  your  words  of  wisdom, 
We  will  think  on  what  you  tell  us  : 
It  is  well  for  us,  0  brothers  ! 
That  you  came  so  far  to  see  us." 

They  liad  conceived  a  reverence  for  the  missionaries,  as  unex- 
pected as  it  was  sincere ;  and  from  the  assurances  that  had  been 
held  out,  did  not  doubt  but  that  life,  under  their  guidance,  would 
be  most  happy.  Voluntarily  and  eagerly  yielding  to  their  direc- 
tion and  commands,  baptism  was  administered  to  young  and  old, 
and  the  whole  assembly,  consisting  of  several  hundred  families, 
submit  in  peaceful  obedience  to  Christian  rule.  Means  are  de- 
vised by  which  the  wants  of  this  new  people  may  be  supplied. 
The  immediate  project  is  to  lay  out  the  foundations  of  a  perma- 
nent mission,  and  the  present  locality,  hallowed  by  the  scenes  that 
had  just  transpired,  seemed  suited  to  this  purpose.  It  is  chosen. 
Here,  then,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Pirape,  the  few  workmen  who  had 
accompanied  the  fathers,  assisted  by  the  natives,  begin  their  labors 
toward  the  construction  of  this  Christian  village ;  it  is  called  Lo- 
reto,  the  first  of  the  famed  Paraguay  missions,  and  stands  out  a 
bright  and  redeeming  spot  in  the  savage  country  that  surrounds  it. 

Huts  were  hastily  erected  to  shelter  the  people  from  the  inclem- 
ency of  the  weather,  and  soon  the  church,  and  other  public 
buildings  rose  up  in  stately  proportions  from  their  foundations. 
Loreto  increased  in  wealth  and  prosperity ;  it  had  well-cultivated 
fields,  a  peaceful  and  diligent  population,  among  whom  were  num- 
bered agriculturists,  mechanics,  and  artisans.  The  training  of  the 
rising  generation  was  not  neglected  ;  it  grew  up  impressed  with  a 
perfect  sense  of  the  obligations  due  the  missionary.  Many  were 
the  benefits  bestowed,  and  there  was  no  want  of  followers  in  re- 
turn. The  embassy  of  the  fathers  was  one  of  peace  ;  they  used 
no  arms  but  those  of  words ;  they  had  apparently  but  one  object, 
and  that  was  the  welfare  of  the  Indian. 


PROGRESS  OF  MISSIONS.  475 

Reports  of  this  success  reached  Asuncion,  and  it  was  responded 
to  by  the  departure  of  several  fathers  and  assistants  for  the  new 
field.  Such  were,  in  the  mean  time,  the  number  of  natives  that 
flocked  to  the  mission  or  reduction,  as  it  was  styled,  that  the 
fathers  probably  found  it  difficult  to  enforce  the  regulations  that 
entered  into  their  peculiar  government.  It  seems  to  have  always 
been  their  policy,  and  it  may  in  most  instances  have  arisen  from 
necessity,  never  to  allow  a  larger  population  to  accumulate  in  one 
town  than  could  be  intrusted  to  the  care  of  two  or  three  of  their 
order;  hence  other  localities  were  sought  for  new  missions,  and 
the  arrival  of  assistance  hastened  these  measures.  The  second 
reduction  was  called,  in  honor  of  the  father  of  the  order,  St.  Ig- 
natius. Others  followed  in  rapid  succession  until  the  province 
counted  no  less  than  twelve.  One  received  the  name  of  St.  Thom- 
as, for  by  a  tradition  of  the  Indians  or  Jesuits — it  would  be  dif- 
ficult to  say  which — in  the  mound  upon  which  it  was  built  that 
apostle  had  interred  a  number  of  Christians. 

This  success  in  Guayra  awakened  a  missionary  spirit  in  every 
Spanish  city  and  town.  Besides  some  scattering  reductions  along 
the  Parana,  we  find  them  in  1627  rising  on  the  banks  of  the  Uru- 
guay, amid  warhke  tribes  of  Indians  who  had  again  and  again 
baffled  the  arms  of  Spain,  but  appeared  for  the  moment  to  lean  to 
the  more  moderate  rule  of  the  Church.  Father  Gonzalez  is  the 
indefatigable  character  here  presented  to  us.  Attended  by  two 
assistants  he  found  his  way  to  the  Uruguay,  and  succeeded  in 
establishing  two  or  three  small  missions  with  every  prospect  of 
future  prosperity.  With  rare  enterprise  he  undertook  at  the  same 
time  to  survey  the  unknown  regions  of  country  that  stretched  far 
around  him ;  he  entered  the  Province  of  Tapey  and  would,  had 
not  an  untimely  death  sealed  his  fate,  have  extended  his  labors 
throughout  the  Uruguay  basin.  It  was  while  thus  engaged,  and 
at  the  same  time  watchfully  guarding  his  small  but  growing 
towns,  that  he  was  called  upon  to  battle  with  rebellious  proselytes 
and  neighboring  unfriendly  tribes.  Adherence  to  a  determination 
not  to  abandon  his  flock  cost  him  his  life.  The  reductions  were 
attacked  and  the  inhabitants  ruthlessly  murdered.  The  fathers 
aU  perished — one  was  stoned  to  death.  Gonzalez  is  regarded  as 
one  of  the  missionary  martyrs.  He  did  indeed  apply  all  his  ener- 
gies and  devote  his  whole  soul  to  the  great  work  of  conversion 
which  was  illuminating  the  many  dark  places  of  Spanish  and 
Portuguese  rule  with  the  lights  of  Gospel  truth.     Every  danger, 


476  OPPOSITION  OF  THE  MAMELUCOS. 

every  sacrifice  seems  to  have  been  met  by  him  witli  a  stoic  calm 
that  marked  him  the  divine  instrument  he  was.  Father  Tanner, 
in  his  Sucietas  Jesu  usque  ad  sanguinis  et  vitoe,  profusionem^  enumer- 
ates tersely  the  many  trials  of  the  father — "  incredibile  dictu  est," 
says  he,  "  quanta  in  hisce  molitionibus  dura  atque  ad  versa  tolera- 
nt, edendi  bibendique  penuriam,  lecti,  testi  ac  vestium  inopiam, 
gestum,  lassitudinem,  sudorem  et  defectionem  virium."  He  was 
born  in  Asuncion,  according  to  the  same  writer,  "parentibus  His- 
panis  et  nobilitate  et  virtute  claris." 

This  was  the  sad  beginning  of  a  succession  of  severe  trials  and 
hardships,  which  required  all  Christian  fortitude  and  Jesuit  reso- 
luteness to  face.  The  warlike  Indians  proved  unfortunately  not 
to  be  the  only  obstacles  to  the  missionary's  work :  an  ill-forbod- 
ing  storm  arose  in  another  quarter,  the  town  of  San  Paulo,  taking 
us  back  to  Guayra. 

The  city  of  San  Paulo  was  at  this  time  a  den  of  pirates  and 
marauding  gangs,  the  safe  retreat  of  all  outlawed  Spanish  or  Por- 
tuguese adventurers,  who  chanced  to  find  their  way  to  the  Bra- 
zilian coast.  Slave-dealers  by  profession,  they  speedily  overrode 
the  influence  and  power  of  the  Church,  and  drove  out  its  minis- 
ters. Their  town  became  the  great  slave-mart  whence  issued 
thousands  and  ten  thousands  of  Indians  to  be  bartered  away  on 
the  public  squares  of  the  Atlantic  cities.  Here  they  assembled 
day  after  day,  as  party  after  party  returned  from  its  inhuman  ex- 
pedition, the  crowds  of  trembling,  bleeding  wretches  that  had 
been  hunted  and  captured  in  some  distant  wilds  never  before 
trodden  by  the  white  man.  Their  passage  was  every  where  mark- 
ed with  destruction  and  depopulation  without  check  or  remon- 
strance. The  intricacies  of  the  forest  were  pierced  in  their  savage 
pursuit,  and  the  natives  followed  to  their  most  secret  hiding- 
places. 

These  well-trained,  well-armed,  roaming,  pillaging  Paulistas  or 
Mamelucos,  as  they  were  popularly  called,  became  the  dread  and 
scourge  of  this  beautiful  land.  Many  of  the  persecuted  Guarani 
by  good  fortune  found  their  way  to  the  newly-established  mis- 
sions of  Guayra,  and  took  refuge  under  the  government  of  the 
Jesuit  fathers ;  indeed  the  tide  of  population,  like  a  retreating 
army,  had  gradually  receded  to  this  point,  the  hungry  enemy 
still  hanging  on  its  flank.  The  Jesuits  embraced  earnestly  the 
opportunity  of  affording  these  natives,  under  such  trying  circum- 
stances, every  assistance  and  protection,  and  so  brought  upon 


MISCONDUCT  OF  CESPEDEZ.  477 

themselves  and  their  missions  the  Mamelucos'  merciless  revenge. 
Notice  soon  arrived  of  their  but  too  rapid  advance,  foreshadowing 
a  general  onslaught  upon  the  hapless  reductions.  The  accounts 
of  coming  danger  were  quickly  confirmed  by  an  attack  upon  the 
two  frontier  missions,  St.  Anthony  and  St.  Michael ;  many  inhab- 
itants perished,  but  the  greater  number  remained  the  prisoners 
and  property  of  the  enemy.  The  retreating  few  fell  back  upon 
the  "  Incarnation,"  which  in  turn  underwent  its  ordeal  of  fire  and 
sword. 

Unfortunately  for  the  Jesuits  and  for  Spain  herself,  Don  Lewis 
Cespedez  was  at  this  time  Governor  of  Asuncion.  His  wife,  a 
Portuguese  woman,  bore  an  ill-will  to  the  Spanish,  which  was  only 
surpassed  by  her  hatred  of  Loyola's  order.  The  governor,  acting 
under  this  influence,  as  well  as  from  entertaining  of  his  own  oc- 
cord  no  very  amicable  feelings  for  the  fathers,  turned  a  deaf  ear 
to  their  entreaties  for  succor  against  the  invading  bandits  of  St. 
Paul.  He  showed  in  this  matter  a  dereliction  of  duty  as  weak  as 
it  was  infamous — injurious  to  himself  and  treacherous  to  his  gov- 
ernment. Personal  aversions  were  indulged,  and  personal  dislikes 
satisfied,  that  he  might  play  away  Spanish  territory  into  the  hands 
of  Spain's  most  inveterate  rival  and  enemy  on  the  southern  con- 
tinent. It  was  not  a  difficult  game,  and  the  loss  and  gain  are 
easily  traced.  To-day  the  Portuguese  or  Brazilians  embrace  with- 
m  the  limits  of  their  empire  far  more  territory  than  they  were 
virtually  entitled  to,  and  all  that  they  have  acquired  in  addition 
to  their  original  possessions,  was  permitted  to  slip  through  Span- 
ish fingers  by  the  imbecility  of  Spanish  governors.  The  whole 
vast  Province  of  Guayranow  belongs  to  Brazil,  and  her  possession 
of  it  may  be  traced  to  this  refusal  of  Cespedez  to  tender  any  assist- 
ance to  the  missions  in  their  present  critical  condition.  It  was 
false  to  imagine  that  these  reductions  would  not  prove  loyal  to 
Spain ;  it  was  short-sighted,  indeed,  not  to  perceive  that  Jesuit 
influence,  in  this  its  legitimate  missionary  sphere,  more  powerful 
and  more  stable  in  itself  than  all  the  arms  of  the  mother  country 
could  have  made  it,  was  the  proper  instrument  to  permanently 
secure  the  extension  of  the  boundaries  of  New  Spain. 

Thus  indirectly  seconded,  and  even  at  times  openly  counte- 
nanced by  this  faithful  governor,  fresh  incentives  were  afforded 
the  Mamelucos  for  continuing  their  cruel  and  unwarranted  depre- 
dations upon  peaceful  missionaries  and  their  still  more  unoffending 
flocks.     An  extensive  but  secret  expedition  was  in  fact  fitted  out 


478  CRUELTIES  OF  THE  MAMELUCOS. 

witli  a  view  to  complete  the  extinction  of  tlie  Guajra.  reductions. 
Before  proceeding  to  extreme  measures  the  Paulistas  resorted,  ac- 
cording Charlevoix,  to  a  sacrilegious  piece  of  trickery  which  met 
with  some  success.  Clothing  themselves  in  the  humble  habili- 
ments of  the  Jesuit,  they  dispersed,  in  various  directions,  to  visit 
those  places  which  had  been  already  frequented  by  the  fathers, 
distributed  presents  in  more  than  necessary  profusion,  erected 
crosses,  and  with  mock  piety,  aided  by  a  perfect  fluency  in  the 
Guarani  language,  explained  the  principal  articles  of  the  faith. 
Then  came  in  due  form  a  proposition  to  add  another  to'  the  pres- 
ent happy  and  prosperous  reductions,  by  establishing  themselves 
into  a  settled  and  permanent  body,  to  whom  the  blessings  of  per- 
fect peace  should  not  be  wanting.  The  delusion  was  success- 
ful, and  vast  numbers  were  entrapped.  These  wolves  in  sheep's 
clothing  bound  or  murdered  the  victims  as  best  suited  their  con- 
venience, summarily  disposing  of  those  that  proved  an  encum- 
brance, and  driving  the  rest  to  the  market.* 

But  this  drama  proved  too  slow  a  mode  of  procedure  for  the 
Mamelucos,  who  soon  doffed  their  gowns,  and  once  more  the  steel- 
clad  pestilence  swept  the  country.  They  made  a  sudden  and  un- 
expected appearance  at  the  mission  of  St.  Paul,  their  leader's  en- 
tering the  house  of  Father  Suarez  being  the  first  announcement 
of  their  arrival.  This  ungracious  surprise,  the  fierce  aspect  of  the 
bandit  chief,  and  his  offensive  weapons  roused  all  the  fears  of  the 
good  Jesuit,  who  fell  upon  his  knees  and  implored,  with  tears,  that 
the  few  unoffending  Christians  under  his  guardianship  might  be 
spared.  But  finding  his  supplication  unheeded,  he  calmy  bared 
his  breast  and  said  he  was  satisfied  to  lay  down  his  life  for  his 
flock,  but  implored,  in  the  name  of  Jesus,  that  it  might  be  a  pro- 
pitiation for  all ;  that  his  people  might  be  allowed  to  disperse  in 
peace.  Saurez's  resignation  disarmed  the  Paulista,  and  saved  his 
own  life,  but  the  natives  shared  their  usual  miserable  fate.  It  was 
to  them  a  choice  between  slavery  or  death.  Some  yielded  to  the 
former,  others  preferred  the  latter,  and  a  few  only  escaped  to  the 
neighboring  missions  to  tell  their  tale  of  despair.  The  marauders 
passed  to  other  settlements,  and  marked  their  steps  with  blood 
and  desolation.  Emboldened  by  a  reiterated  refusal,  on  the  part 
of  the  Governors  of  Asuncion,  to  afford  any  assistance  to  the  mis- 
sions, they  had  little  regard  for  any  one  or  any  thing ;  their  object 
was  to  drive  the  Jesuits  out  of  Guayra,  and  they  had  few  scruples 

*  Charlevoix;  Dobrizhofter,  vol.  i.,  ]>.  I  GO. 


DESTRUCTION  OF  THE  MISSIONS.  479 

as  to  the  means  employed.  St.  Xavier  and  most  of  the  reductions 
were  razed  to  the  ground ;  houses  were  ransacked,  churches  pil- 
laged, altars  polluted  with  innocent  blood,  and  the  whole  given  to 
general  conflagration  when  its  treasures  had  enriched  and  over- 
laden the  successful  enemy.  Loreto  and  St.  Ignatius,  the  first  and 
last  of  the  Guayra  missions,  now  stood  alone  in  the  enjoyment  or 
the  misery  of  a  momentary  existence.  Here  a  consultation  was 
held  among  the  surviving  fathers  and  natives,  who  had  retreated 
to  this  their  last  place  of  defense.  Some  proposed  a  united  and 
desperate  attack  upon  the  Mamelucos,  trusting  for  victory  to  the 
superiority  of  their  numbers.  Others,  whether  more  judiciously 
or  not  it  would  be  difficult  at  this  distance  of  time  to  say,  advised 
an  immediate  retreat  from  the  dangers  that  surrounded  them,  sug- 
gesting that  there  were  brilliant  hopes  in  other  lands,  and  nothing 
cheering  in  their  present  condition.  This  latter  course  was  ap- 
proved. Over  twelve  thousand  people,  men,  women,  and  chil- 
dren, were  hastily  assembled  together,  bearing  with  them  whatever 
portable  property  they  had  secured  from  the  general  wreck,  and 
provisioned  as  time  and  circumstances  would  permit.  Organizing 
themselves  with  that  order  to  which  they  had  been  trained,  and 
entreated  by  the  Provincial,  who  was  in  the  country  throughout 
this  contest,  to  obey  their  pastors,  this  motley  army  was  marched 
to  the  Parana.  Meantime  the  Paulistas  were  in  pursuit,  for  scarce- 
ly had  Loreto  been  abandoned  when  they  entered  the  now  de- 
serted town.  That  mission  and  St.  Ignatius  were  soon  a  heap  of 
ruins. 

What  fortunate  traveler  will  be  the  first  to  find  his  way  into 
this  old  Province  of  Guayra,  and,  descending  in  his  canoe  the  al- 
most fabled  river  of  Paranapane,  gaze  upon  those  interesting  ruins 
which  tell  of  a  civilization  due  to  the  sacrifices  and  Christian  de- 
votion of  Jesuit  missionaries?  Or  perhaps  time  may  have  effaced 
every  lingering  vestige.  It  is  sad  that  the  servants  of  God  should 
have  met  with  such  rewards,  and  a  foul  blot  to  Spain  and  Por- 
tugal to  have  permitted  the  inhuman  depredations  here  practiced. 
An  industrious  and  peaceful  population  was  in  a  moment  of  time 
swept  from  the  land.  It  has  been  estimated  by  several  good  au- 
thorities that  no  less  than  sixty  thousand  Indians  were  sold  in  the 
public  square  of  Kio  Janeiro  between  the  years  1628  and  1630, 
the  period  of  this  succession  of  invasions ;  and  it  was  not  the  sav- 
age Indian  that  suffered  thus,  but  men  who  had  received  the  light 
of  the  Gospel  and  come  within  the  pale  of  Christianity. 


480  SUFFERINGS  OF  THE  FUGITIVES. 

The  retreating  army  reached  the  Parana  in  safety,  startled  now 
and  then  by  a  false  report  of  pursuit,  A  number  of  balsas  or 
rafts  were  there  constructed  to  descend  the  river ;  they  reached 
the  Salto  Grande,  but  here  they  were  called  upon  to  endure  re- 
newed hardships.  These  rapids  extend  for  many  miles  down  the 
river,  and  the  passage  by  land  to  their  base  is  both  difficult  and 
dangerous.  As  an  experiment  to  test  the  force  of  the  fall,  some 
of  their  boats  were  given  to  the  current,  and  dashed  to  atoms  in 
descending.  Then  old  and  young,  mothers  and  children,  fatigued 
by  eight  days'  marching,  slowly  commenced  the  painful  journey 
by  land.  A  scarcity  of  provisions  next  added  to  their  trials ; 
they  subsisted  as  they  could  upon  roots  and  upon  whatever  wild 
fruits  could  be  found  in  the  surrounding  country.  Many  deaths 
occurred ;  and,  to  avoid  the  horrors  of  a  general  starvation,  they 
were,  for  a  short  time,  divided  into  four  sections,  and  directed 
to  take  different  courses.  A  number,  unable  to  proceed,  were 
left  in  the  country  on  either  side  of  the  falls,  where  they  remained 
for  upward  of  four  months.  Finally,  Father  Montoy a  assembled 
these  scattering  remnants  of  a  once  numerous  population,  and 
formed  them  into  two  missions  near  a  little  river  called  Jubabur- 
rus,  flowing  into  the  Parana  on  its  left  bank.  These  new  mis- 
sions were  called  Loreto  and  St.  Ignatius.* 

The  unholy  work  was  thus  consummated.  Though  deplored 
by  many,  it  found  favor  among  the  usual  enemies  of  the  Jesuit 
missionaries ;  their  exultation,  however,  was  but  short-lived.  The 
important  fact  at  last  revealed  itself  to  their  blinded  and  preju- 
diced minds  that  they  had  been  false  to  themselves;  for  the 
Mamelucos,  after  every  possible  pillage  and  depredation  had  been 
committed  in  Guayra,  assembled  their  forces,  marched  successive- 
ly upon  the  Spanish  towns  of  Yilla  Pica  and  Ciudad  Keal,  and 
destroyed  them  both.  To  this  startling  news  was  soon  added 
that  of  the  expected  advance  of  the  Portuguese  upon  Asuncion. 
Much  to  the  relief  of  that  city,  these  dismal  expectations  were  not 
fulfilled,  for  other  and  more  attractive  inducements  had  given  a 
different  course  to  their  aims  for  the  enslavement  of  the  Indian. 

The  death  of  Gonzalez  had  by  no  means  thwarted  the  indomit- 
able purposes  of  the  fathers.  The  country  of  the  Uruguay,  though 
settled  by  warlike  tribes,  was  found  to  be  advantageous  in  many 
respects  for  the  establishment  of  missions.  The  places  of  those 
who  fell  martyrs  to  their  devotion  were  filled  by  others  equally 

*  Charlevoix,  vol.  i.,  p.  350. 


FURTHER  OUTRAGES.  481 

enthusiastic.  Father  Ranconnier  was  the  soul  of  this  new  attempt, 
and,  under  his  direction,  in  one  year  four  reductions*  sprang  up 
as  from  some  enchanter's  wand.  About  the  same  time,  in  1633, 
as  if  to  ruin  every  good  project,  the  bickerings  between  laymen 
and  Jesuits  were  again  renewed.  The  Bishop  of  Asuncion,  con- 
sidering the  reductions  as  coming  within  his  diocese,  complacently 
convinced  himself  that  Franciscans,  or  rather  ecclesiastics,  would 
better  supply  the  places  of  the  present  Jesuit  beneficiaries,  and  he 
undertook  to  make  known  his  impressions  on  this  point  some- 
what energetically.  The  Governor  of  Buenos  Ayres  hazarded 
next  in  turn  to  entertain  the  design  of  establishing  a  Spanish  city 
in  the  midst  of  the  Uruguay  reductions,  but  was  speedily  request- 
ed by  Philip  lY.  of  Spain  to  banish  all  such  thoughts  from  his 
mind. 

In  revenge  for  such  unexpected  opposition  to  their  schemes 
against  the  Jesuits,  governors  and  bishops  declined  assisting  the 
missions  in.  their  continuous  defense  against  the  Pauhstas  and  un- 
friendly Indians.  From  the  Province  of  Guayra  the  attention  of 
both  these  latter  had  been  turned  to  the  Uruguay,  The  port  of 
San  Pedro  was  one  of  the  slave-markets  of  the  Paulistas,  and  the 
missions  were  so  conveniently  approachable  from  this  point  that 
it  required  but  short  consultation  to  decide  upon  their  annihila- 
tion. 

Father  Romero  had  received  early  intelligence  of  the  expected 
attack  upon  the  missions,  and  being  stationed  at  Jesus  Maria,  the 
most  easterly,  made  every  possible  preparation  for  defense.  The 
hounds  were  soon  upon  him,  and  though  his  people  gallantly 
stood  at  bay  for  a  while,  they  were  eventually  forced  to  cajjitu- 
late.  The  church  and  houses  were  burnt,  many  Indians  butch- 
ered, and  the  rest  taken  prisoners.  A  general  abandonment  of  all 
the  neighboring  towns  took  place  in  consequence,  for  to  resist  the 
Mamelucos  was  always  looked  upon  as  little  short  of  madness ; 
yet  they  smarted  not  a  little  under  this  new  triumph.  The  mis- 
sionaries with  their  Indians  retreated  in  safety,  and  even  burnt 
some  of  their  reductions  in  so  doing,  to  prevent  them  from  falling 
into  the  hands  of  the  enemy.  The  Provincial  had  in  the  mean 
time  been  entreating  for  aid  at  Asuncion,  but  without  success, 
Buenos  Ayres  and  Corrientes  equally  declined.  Abandoned  to 
their  own  unaided  ejQforts,  the  fathers,  marshaling  with  all  speed 
whatever  force  they  could  bring  together,  obliged  the  Mamelucos 

*  St.  Joseph,  The  Angels,  St.  Peter,  and  St.  Paul. 

31 


482  EXPULSION  OF  THE  JESUITS. 

to  retreat  with  their  present  rich  booty.  Spain  never  regained 
this  lost  territory,  as  she  never  regained  that  of  the  Province  of 
Griiayra.  They  are  both  embraced  within  the  Empire  of  Brazil, 
both  undoubtedly  rich  and  fertile  tracts  of  country,  coursed  by 
broad  and  navigable  streams,  but  uncultivated,  without  popula- 
tion, and  very  little  known. 

The  Paulistas,  however,  did  not  altogether  retire  from  the 
country ;  a  few  sudden  attacks  and  some  considerable  skirmish- 
ing still  warned  the  people  that  there  was  cause  for  alarm.  In 
the  early  part  of  1638  the  reductions  of  St.  Charles  and  the 
Apostles  were  abandoned,  A  slight  success  at  first  favored  the 
Indians  in  the  field;  the  Mamelucos  were  for  a  moment  check- 
ed in  their  march,  but,  profiting  by  the  indecision  of  the  natives 
— surprised  at  their  own  good  fortune — they  made  a  vigorous 
attack  that  placed  the  whole  country  at  their  discretion.  A  gen- 
eral evacuation  of  all  the  missions*  took  place ;  twelve  thousand 
Indians,  f  exclusive  of  women  and  children,  crossed  the  Uruguay, 
settled  in  the  country  between  that  river  and  the  Parana,  and 
were  afterward  numbered  among  the  thirty  Parana  missions. 

Thus  after  a  contest  of  several  years  and  the  destruction  of 
twenty-one  reductions,  the  Jesuit  missionaries  were  gradually 
forced  and  driven  into  the  territory  now  called  Missiones,  hem- 
med in  on  every  side  by  Spanish,  Portuguese,  and  Indians,  and 
pursued  by  the  enmity  of  their  own  countrymen  as  by  the  arms 
of  the  Paulistas.  They  had  been  engaged  in  a  fearful  and  bloody 
strife  for  the  Church  as  well  as  for  Spain,  and  yet  found  no  relief 
beyond  the  limits  of  their  own  reductions.  A  hundred  thousand 
Christian  natives  had  been  either  butchered  or  enslaved,  while 
the  governors  of  provinces  and  bishops  of  dioceses  looked  calmly 
on,  the  latter  threatening  all  the  while,  in  the  face  of  the  king's 
edict,  to  purge  the  land  of  Jesuits,  the  former  ^proposing  to  lend 
thereto  the  more  substantial  means  at  their  command.  Brothers 
of  the  order  had  nobly  perished  at  the  hands  of  savages  they 
sought  to  convert,  but  outside  sympathy  was  yet  withheld.  We 
know  that  all  their  interests  were  at  variance  with  those  of  the 
Spaniard,  and  therefore  the  fathers  keenly  felt  the  want  of  more 
faithful  allies  and  more  trustworthy  friends.  Thwarted  in  their 
labors,  and  unnoticed  in  their  earnest  appeals  for  aid  to  the  high- 

*  St.  Joseph,  the  Angels,  St.  Peter,  St.  Paul,  St.  Christopher,  Jesus  Maria,  St. 
Anne,  St.  Joachim,  St.  Theresa,  St.  Charles,  the  Apostles,  and  St.  Nicholas, 
f  Charlevoix,  book  i.,  p.  382. 


APPEAL  TO  THE  KING.  433 

est  authorities  on  this  side  of  the  waters,  abandoned  to  their  own 
resources,  and  left  to  carve  out  their  own  destiny,  they  had  re- 
course to  the  final  tribunal — the  Spanish  monarch  and  the  Pope. 
For  although  fortune  once  more  began  to  smile  upon  the  reduc- 
tions they  had  so  industriously  established  out  of  the  remnants 
of  the  former  missions,  yet  their  late  reverses  were  remembered 
with  grief  and  wounded  spirits.  Their  present  proximity  to  the 
Spanish  towns  was  a  check  upon  all  their  movements  and  meas- 
ures ;  and  to  secure  the  prosperity,  wealth,  power,  and  independ- 
ence they  sought  to  attain,  other  privileges  and  immunities  must 
be  first  secured.  The  Spaniards  had  declined  to  assist  them; 
they  would  no  longer  succumb  to  this  unnatural  opposition.  They 
would  now  have  arms  of  their  own,  and  would  fight  their  own 
battles. 

Fathers  De  Montoya — one  of  the  most  learned  men  of  his  day 
— and  Tano  sailed  for  Europe,  the  former  accredited  to  the  court 
of  Spain,  the  latter  to  the  Pope.  Both  were  eminently  successful 
in  their  missions.  De  Montoya  forcibly  represented  the  necessi- 
ties of  the  missionaries :  they  were  laboring,  he  said,  only  for  the 
conversion  of  the  Indians,  for  the  success,  prosperity,  and  safety 
of  their  reductions ;  and  the  king,  favorably  disposed  to  his  In- 
dian vassals,  under  the  good  and  loyal  guidance  of  the  fathers, 
granted  his  every  request.  The  law  of  1611,  forbidding  the  Span- 
ish settlers  to  enslave  the  natives  unless  captured  in  a  just  war, 
had,  like  many  others,  been  little  heeded. 

Often  had  kings  essayed  to  check  the  ill 

By  edicts  not  so  well  enforced  as  meant ; , 
A  present  power  was  wanting  to  fulfill 

Kemote  authority's  sincere  intent. 

De  Montoya  asked  that  it  should  be  strictly  carried  into  execu- 
tion ;  he  also  succeeded  in  obtaining  from  the  king  an  edict  which 
not  only  commanded  the  Mamelucos  to  set  at  liberty  those  who 
had  been  captured  by  them,  but  which  was  to  find  guilty  of  high 
treason  any  who  might  attempt  to  renew  this  unlawful  traffic. 
This  ordinance,  though  of  a  more  humane  character  than  that  of 
his  grandfather,  Philip  II.,  when  he  condemned  to  death  the  whole 
population  of  the  Netherlands,  rivaled  it  in  its  utter  impractica- 
bility. De  Montoya  did  not  blind  himself  to  the  fact  that  little 
confidence  could  be  placed  in  these  parchment  scrolls  unless  ac- 
companied by  a  siuord  of  justice^  the  unfailing  instrument  which 
could  alone  sever  the  Gordian  knots  of  future  dissensions. 


484  APPEAL  TO  THE  POPE. 

An  all-important  object  was  to  obtain  a  grant  wbicb  should  al- 
low the  reduction  Indians  to  have  fire-arms.  This  was  the  main 
proposition  made  by  the  Jesuit  envoy.  It  was  objected  that  the 
natives  once  finding  themselves  in  the  possession  of  such  power, 
would  use  it  to  endanger  the  stability  of  Spanish  authority. 
These  fears  were  dissipated  by  the  agreement  that  they  should 
not  be  permanently  supplied  with  arms  except  in  cases  of  urgent 
necessity,  and  by  the  assurance  furthermore  that  the  fathers  would 
be  responsible  for  their  conduct.  De  Montoya  overcame  all  ob- 
stacles ;  he  received  a  grant,  with  the  seal  of  Spain  upon  it,  which 
established  the  perfect  independence  and  future  power  of  the  mis- 
sions. 

Tano  had  equal  reason  to  be  elated  with  his  success.  He  was 
received  at  Eome  with  every  kindness  and  regard.  His  story  of 
the  hardships,  reverses,  and  sacrifices  of  the  Jesuit  brothers  in  the 
wilds  of  South  America,  of  the  cruelties  and  butcheries  of  the 
Mamelucos,  and  of  the  inimical  disposition  toward  them  even 
of  the  Spanish  settlers  themselves,  was  full  of  thrilling  interest 
and  the  tenderest  appeal.  The  sympathies  of  the  Church  were 
with  him.  Pope  Urban  VIII.  was  much  affected  at  his  recital  of 
all  that  had  transpired  in  the  brief  history  of  the  missions,  and 
the  anathemas  of  the  Holy  See  went  out  against  the  actors  and 
abettors  in  the  heinous  offenses  committed  against  Loyola's  de- 
voted sons.  The  Pope  accorded  all  that  could  in  any  way  tend 
to  the  tranquillity  and  security  of  the  new  missions,  and,  says 
Charlevoix,  "would  have  made  him  (Tano)  completely  happy, 
could  that  missionary  answer  for  the  thunders  of  the  Vatican 
being  sufiicient  to  put  an  end  to  all  the  evils  of  which  he  had 
given  his  Holiness  an  account."*  But  among  the  Mamelucos  the 
thunders  of  the  Vatican,  like  the  thunders  of  the  heavens,  rolled 
on  with  an  imposing  noise  and  then  died  out,  harming  none. 

Father  Tano,  on  returning  to  Madrid  from  Eome,  found  a  num- 
ber of  missionaries  assembled  at  the  instance  of  De  Montoya,  and 
prepared  to  accompany  him  to  the  western  continent.  He  sailed 
shortly,  but  adverse  winds  forced  him  into  Eio  Janeiro.  Here,  mak- 
ing known  the  edicts  of  the  Spanish  monarch  and  the  papal  briefs, 
a  shout  of  indignation,  and  even  violent  demonstrations,  rose  up 
against  him  and  his  attendants.  Spiritual  condemnations  bore 
lightly  upon  the  shoulders  of  the  Mamelucos,  but  they  were  not 
easily  composed  with  regard  to  a  law  which  so  materially  affected 

*  Vol.  i.,  p.  391. 


THE  GUARANI  ARMED.  435 

tlieir  temporal  goods ;  they  lived  by  the  slave-traffic,  and  it  would 
take  a  powerfnl^force  to  bring  them  to  renounce  it,  to  compel  them, 
at  that  late  day,  to  give  up  the  fruit  of  their  bloody  toils  in  Guayra 
and  Tape.  Their  exasperation  was  not  slight  nor  to  be  disregard- 
ed ;  several  tumultuous  outbreaks  convinced  Father  Tano  that  his 
sacerdotal  robes  might  not  possibly  prove  a  sufficient  protection 
to  his  person.  At  the  same  time,  the  revolution  which  had  taken 
place  in  Portugal,  and  which  placed  the  Duke  of  Braganza  on  the 
throne,  warned  him  against  a  longer  stay  in  his  present  perilous 
position.  He  reached  Buenos  Ayres  in  safety  in  November  of 
1640.  Father  Montoya  passed  the  rest  of  his  days  in  Peru  and 
Tucuman,  performing  many  important  and  useful  duties  in  the 
service  of  his  order,  and  especially  engaged  in  furnishing  arms,  for 
the  grant  of  which  the  missions  owed  him  every  indebtedness. 

The  Mamelucos  were  still  gathering  strength.  They  probably 
never  had  a  greater  encouragement  for  renewing  their  inhuman 
conquests  than  that  offered  by  the  late  Portuguese  revolution.  A 
declared  hostility  to  Spain,  arising  from  that  event,  only  confirmed 
them  in  a  bold  determination  to  reach  the  Paraguay.  Considering 
the  countless  hordes  that  composed  the  Guarani  family,  it  is  a  mat- 
ter of  astonishment  that  this  their  mortal  enemy  ever  should  have 
advanced  with  impunity  so  far  as  he  had ;  but  gentleness,  meek- 
ness, and  unwarlike  habits  were  the  characteristics  of  their  nature.* 
Yet  a  docile  spirit  may  be  spurred  to  despair.  Pillaged  churches 
and  burning  houses  would  stir  even  stagnant  blood.  Mothers, 
fathers,  brothers,  sisters,  wives,  and  children  mercilessly  butchered, 
or  bound  and  carried  off  to  be  sold  in  the  market  of  some  distant 
city,  leaves  its  impress  upon  the  Indian  mind.  To  be  pursued 
from  place  to  place,  hunted  from  wood  to  wood,  with  the  prospect 
of  eventual  extermination,  would  make  the  dullest  nature  revolt. 
The  Indian  felt  at  last  that  he  had  the  sinews  wherewith  to  fight ; 
fight  he  must,  or  there  was  an  end  to  him ;  but  his  light  lance  and 
erring  shng  might  even  at  this  time  liave  proved  of  no  avail  but 
for  the  gunpowder  about  to  greet  the  Paulistas. 

Due  notice  had  been  received  of  the  expedition  that  was  ad- 

*  M.  Cretineau  Joly  is  in  error  when  he  asserts  (Histoire  de  la  Compagnie  de 
Jdsus,  vol.  iii.,  p.  312):  "Les  Jesuites  avaient  trouve  les  Guaranis  cnjels,  vin- 
dictifs,  enclins  a  tous  les  exees,  sauvages  par  nature  et  avec  volupte."  Next  to  the 
Peruvians  they  were  probably  the  most  civilized  people  in  South  America,  and  their 
future  amalgamation  with  the  white  race,  while  other  tribes  held  their  own  in  the 
deserts  of  the  Gran  Chaco,  shows  conclusively  that  they  were  above  the  ordinary 
level  uf  the  savage. 


486  DEFEAT  OF  THE  MAMELUCOS. 

vancing  against  the  reductions.  The  fathers  made  every  effort  to 
give  their  visitors  a  warm  reception,  and  raised'^n  army  of  four 
thousand  men,  mostly  armed  with  bows  and  shngs,  for  three  hund- 
red muskets  were  all  that  could  possibly  be  obtained  at  the  time ; 
these  were  distributed  among  the  chiefs,  and  they  did  effectual  serv- 
ice in  the  coming  engagement.  The  Paulistas,  numbering  four 
hundred,  and  joined  by  as  many  Tupis  Indians,  ascended  the  Aca- 
ray  River  in  a  fleet  of  boats.  Abiaru,  chief  of  the  native  army,  ad- 
vanced to  meet  them,  and,  stationing  himself  at  the  head  of  a  small 
arm  of  the  river,  awaited  their  approach. 

After  a  short  and  useless  interview  with  the  Paulista  chief,  he 
retired  to  draw  up  his  force ;  soon  the  two  boat  fleets  were  seen 
steadily  advancing  to  the  shock.  The  banks  were  lined  with  men, 
women,  and  children,  watching  with  intense  anxiety  this  measur- 
ing of  strength,  and  "invoking  with  a  loud  voice  the  Apostle 
of  the  Indies."  The  discharge  of  a  small  cannon,  as  unexpected 
as  a  stroke  of  lightning  to  the  Paulistas,  sunk  three  of  the  enemy's 
pirogues,  and  threw  the  rest  into  no  little  confusion.  The  three 
hundred  muskets  were  also  used  with  such  deadly  effect  that  the 
invaders  pulled  for  the  shore,  determined  to  try  their  strength  on 
terra  firma.  Here  again  they  were  vigorously  met ;  a  united  at- 
tack of  the  whole  Guarani  force  for  once  broke  their  line  and  com- 
pletely dispersed  them.  Hotly  pursued,  they  skirmished  for  a 
while,  but  finally  secreted  themselves  in  the  thickets  or  sought 
shelter  in  the  neighboring  forests.  Collecting  the  next  day  their 
scattered  and  much-diminished  forces,  and  still  despising  the 
clouds  of  Indians  that  now  began  exultingly  to  hover  around,  they 
thought  yet  to  drive  them  from  the  field,  or  at  least  gain  time  to 
be  re-enforced.  A  rapid  and  murderous  charge  made  by  the  Gua- 
rani exploded  all  these  hopes.     But  few  of  the  invaders  escaped.* 

For  the  first  time  the  Mamelucos  were  worsted  in  their  long-con- 
tinued persecutions  of  the  Indians.  They  had  at  last  been  checked 
and  beaten  in  open  fight,  forced  back  into  their  own  territory,  and 
cut  off  almost  to  a  man.  It  was  a  severe  and  withering  blow,  one 
from  which  they  were  long  in  recovering.  The  cobweb  defense 
behind  which  the  missions  had  heretofore  fought  was  replaced  by 
a  sterner  front,  and  the  scales  of  fortune  were  completely  turned. 
Hope  and  assurance  relieved  their  old  and  habitual  fears  of  the 
Paulistas.  Twenty-nine  reductions,  banded  together  and  supplied 
with  arms,  began  to  feel  their  power.     The  battle  of  Acaray  made 

*  Cliarlevoix,  vol.  i.,  p.  407-8. 


.  BISHOP  CARDENAS.  487 

a  liundred  tliousand  natives,  all  weak  and  trembling  until  now, 
conscious  of  their  strength.  They  now  sprang,  like  the  god,  into 
the  panoply  of  war  and  might.  Yet  scarce  had  the  dreaded  foe 
from  without  been  vanquished  when  a  domestic  broil  ensued — 
the  old  clashing  between  Jesuits  and  laymen  is  renewed.  The 
Bishop  of  Asuncion  wages  war  against  them. 

Don  Bernardin  de  Cardenas  is  a  prominent  character  in  the 
history  of  Spanish  America.  He  was  a  native  of  La  Plata  (or 
Chiquisaca),  early  distinguished  himself  as  a  preacher  and  a  mis- 
sionary, and  when  still  young  was  elevated  to  the  bishopric  of 
Asuncion.  Here  his  excitable  disposition  and  executive  qualities 
developed  themselves.  Looking  upon  himself  as  a  head  supreme 
to  the  government  of  church  and  province,  utterly  regardless  of 
the  separate  and  distinct  powers  vested  in  other  officials  associated 
with  him,  all  affairs  brought  to  the  consideration  of  the  city  au- 
thorities underwent  the  ordeal  of  his  consent  or  dissent.  His  was 
a  temporal  as  well  as  a  spiritual  administration — a  combination 
not  unexampled,  but  inconsistent  in  this  case,  and  injurious  under 
any  circumstances.  Those  hazardous  enough  to  thwart  this  am- 
bitious prelate's  designs  learned  the  violence  of  his  displeasure. 
The  bishop  held  within  his  grasp  a  mighty  power — excommuni- 
cation— one  which  he  wielded  mercilessly.  From  the  governor 
down,  all  underwent  this  mark  of  his  resentment,  not  once,  but 
again  and  again.  Day  after  day  lengthened  lists  of  excommuni- 
cated individuals  were  framed,  whole  columns  of  condemned  were 
placarded  about  the  town.  No  penitence  was  too  severe  to  re- 
move the  mark  of  sin,  though  its  blasting  effect  had  been  some- 
what tempered  here  by  its  too  frequent  and  continuous  occurrence. 
The  anathematized  grew  bold  in  their  numbers ;  a  rebellious 
spirit  showed  itself;  a  din  of  tumult  and  disorder  reached  the 
bishop's  ears,  and  in  the  midst  of  it  he  wisely  retired  to  Yaguaron, 
a  considerable  Indian  village  about  thirty  miles  distant.  His  last 
instructions  were  that  there  should  be  no  intercourse  with  the  ex- 
communicated, and  that  divine  service  should  be  performed  in  no 
church  in  presence  of  the  governor,  Don  Gregorio  de  Hinisti'osa. 
Hinistrosa's  devout  head  bore  heavily  and  sadly  the  excommuni- 
cation that  rested  upon  him ;  he  calmed  his  anger  and  softened 
his  jealousies  that  he  might  undergo  the  necessary  penalties  for  its 
removal.  For  this  purpose  he  found  his  way  to  Yaguaron,  as  an 
humble  pilgrim  come  to  atone  for  his  sins.  There  was  not  a  door 
but  was  closed  against  him,  not  a  hand  raised  in  his  behalf     He 


488  THE  BISHOP  AND  THE  GOVERNOR.  • 

sought  tlie  presence  of  the  haughty  bishop,  who  received  him 
with  a  demeanor  and  in  a  manner  worthy  of  Gregory  VII.  Hin- 
istrosa  fell  at  his  feet  and  asked  forgiveness ;  it  was  purchased  by 
consenting  to  pay  a  heavy  fine. 

Cardenas,  in  this  retreat  at  Yaguaron,  while  forcing  the  peni- 
tent governor  and  people  of  Asuncion  to  humble  themselves  be- 
fore him,  was  also  engaged  in  concocting  and  planning  schemes 
by  which  he  was  to  bring  about  the  overthrow  of  the  Jesuits. 
Already  had  he  forbidden  many  of  the  fathers  to  preach,  and 
closed  their  schools  in  Asuncion.  He  had  probably,  among  ma,ny 
other  reasons,  felt  aggrieved  because  he  lacked  the  power  to  exact 
from  them  certain  tithes ;  for,  through  Jesuit  influence  at  Madrid, 
their  payment  of  royal  tribute  was  postponed  until  1549.  The 
missions  were  increasing  in  wealth  and  power,  independent  of 
outside  control,  and  contributing  nothing  as  yet  either  to  the 
king's  coffers  or  to  the  Church.  These  were  extreme  privileges 
which  excited  this  bishop's  wrath.  Upon  one  occasion  he  thought 
to  drive  them  by  force  from  their  college  in  Asuncion,  but  desist- 
ed on  learning  that  his  purpose  was  anticipated.  Meantime  an- 
swers began  to  pour  into  the  country  to  the  numerous  communi- 
cations which  at  the  outset  of  these  difficulties  had  been  forward- 
ed to  the  viceroy  and  the  Audience  of  Charcas.  Cardenas  was 
severely  censured.  The  governor,  too,  was  greatly  blamed  for 
allowing  himself,  the  representative  of  his  Majesty,  to  be  outwit- 
ted and  overruled  by  a  prelate  whose  business  it  was  to  attend  to 
his  own  spiritual  affairs.  Don  Gregorio's  confidence  and  courage 
were  restored;  his  devotion  was  temporarily  laid  aside  that  he 
might  strike  an  effectual  blow  to  regain  his  legitimate  authority. 

Leaving  Asuncion,  attended  by  thirty  men,  he  was  met  not  far 
from  the  city  by  a  body  of  Indians,  whom  he  had  been  expect- 
ing. A  night's  march  brought  them  to  Yaguaron,  and  the  bustle 
of  their  arrival  soon  awakened  the  peaceful  town.  Cardenas, 
startled  at  the  disturbance,  was  hurriedly  dressing  when  the  gov- 
ernor entered  his  apartment.  Attempting  to  retreat  by  a  private 
door,  he  was  quickly  followed,  until  Don  Gregorio  found  himself 
standing  upon  the  steps  leading  to  the  high  altar  of  the  church. 
The  excited  people,  soldiers  and  Indians,  fast  crowded  in.  Car- 
denas, from  his  place  in  the  sanctuary,  inquired  of  the  governor 
the  cause  of  his  unexpected  appearance,  "To  serve  you,  by  or- 
der of  the  viceroy,  with  a  sentence  of  banishment  from  this  prov- 
ince, and  a  seizure  of  your  goods,  for  having  usurped  the  jurisdic- 


THE  BISHOP'S  INTRIGUES. 


489 


tion  which  I  hold  from  our  sovereign  lord  the  king,"  was  the  reply. 
Cardenas  answered,  unmoved,  "  I  promise  to  obey,  and  take  this 
congregation  to  witness  my  promise."  Then,  giving  way  to  his 
pent-up  animosities,  he  violently  denounced  the  governor  and  his 
associates,  and  served  them  in  turn  with  a  renewed  excommuni- 
cation. He  was  forced  to  return  to  Asuncion,  but  there  finding 
his  power  lost  and  his  personal  liberty  restrained,  he  writes  with 
exquisite  disgust  to  the  governor  that  he  could  not  prevail  upon 
himself  to  remain  in"  a  country  inhabited  almost  entirely  by  an 
excommunicated  people.  Amid  public  displays  and  ringing  of 
bells  the  humbled  bishop  took  leave  of  the  city  and  descended 
the  river  to  Corrientes. 

The  old  spirit  of  authority  and  mania  for  anathematizing  ac- 
companied him  in  this  banishment.  Bishop  of  Paraguay  he  still 
was  and  would  be,  but  his  thunders  now  fell  comparatively  harm- 
less upon  his  offending  children.  The  Jesuits  haunted  him  ;  he 
bore  them  earnestly  and  perseveringly  in  mind,  nursing  the  while 
a  fixed  resolve  that  at  some  period,  sooner  or  later,  the  order 
should  be  driven  from  the  country.  He  bitterly  complains  of 
them  in  all  his  letters,  and  his  epistolary  correspondence  increases 
as  his  case  grows  desperate.  To  the  Bishop  of  Tucuman  he  ap- 
peals in  the  strongest  language,  pleading  his  commiseration  in  a 
world  of  humble  regard.  The  bishop's  reply  could  not  have 
healed  many  wounds  or  afforded  much  satisfaction :  his  sympa- 
thies were  with  the  fathers,  and  he  rejoiced  that  they  had  stemmed 
the  current  of  Don  Bernardin's  wrath.  He  writes  that  his  power 
does  not  consist  "  in  splendore  vestium  sed  morum,  non  ad  iram 
sed  ad  omnimodam  patientiam."  The  deposed  but  overbearing 
bishop  had  but  little  patience;  his  temper  was  superabundant; 
his  prejudices  and  perseverance  were  unfailing,  and,  though  re- 
pulsed in  this  quarter,  he  was  more  successful  at  La  Plata  and  in 
his  influence  with  the  Audience  of  Charcas.  From  the  latter  he 
finally  obtained  permission  to  return  to  Asuncion  under  the  plea 
of  settling  his  much-deranged  affairs.  He  was  enthusiastically  re- 
ceived by  his  friends  in  that  city,  for  there  was  still  a  party  in  his 
favor,  and  the  governor  deemed  it  impolitic  to  interfere,  although 
he  could  not  have  but  foreseen  that  his  welcomed  guest  might 
prove  a  dangerous  enemy.  Judging  from  his  prolonged  stay,  the 
prelate's  affairs  must  have  been  in  a  most  deplorable  condition. 
He,  however,  declared  his  disinterestedness  in  all  public  measures : 
spiritual,  not  temporal,  matters  engaged  his  thoughts.     During 


490  THE  BISHOP  AND  THE  JESUITS. 

this  visit  tlie  governor  died  (1649).  Who  shall  succeed  hiui? 
Surely  not  the  prelate,  on  a  mere  visit  to  the  city,  apparently  lost 
in  the  mazes  of  his  pecuniary  embarrassments.  Yet  it  was  so. 
The  people  held  a  clamorous  meeting  to  decide  for  themselves ; 
for  with  them  Cardenas  was  popular,  and,  under  the  shadow  of 
an  ancient  edict  of  Charles  V. — a  piece  of  parchment  the  bishop 
had  been  hunting  for  all  his  life — they  declared  this  their  right. 
Don  Bernardin  was  proclaimed  governor,  bishop,  captain-general 
— dictator,  in  a  word. 

This  power  was  wielded  with  crushing  effect  upon  the  Jes- 
uits ;  he  held  them  in  his  grip,  and  they  would  have  felt  the  hold 
"  through  bars  of  brass  and  triple  steel."  The  blow  came  at  last. 
Says  the  worthy  bishop,  while  preaching  in  the  cathedral,  "  Be 
firmly  persuaded  that  I  have  an  order  from  the  king  to  drive  the 
Jesuits  out  of  this  city."*  He  may  have  persuaded  himself  to  this 
effect,  but  certainly  not  the  fathers.  The  only  consideration  with 
him  now  was  as  to  what  were  the  most  expedient  and  summary 
means  for  ridding  Asuncion  of  their  presence.  He  issued  an  order 
compelling  all  good  citizens  of  the  city  capable  of  carrying  arms, 
under  pain  of  excommunication,  to  join  the  standard  of  Villejo 
Villasanti,  lieutenant  to  the  king,  and  obey  his  instructions.  On 
the  10th  of  March,  1649,  this  rabble  marched  to  the  college  ;  find- 
ing it  closed  they  summoned  its  inmates  to  open  the  gates,  but 
received  no  answer.  Gates  and  doors  were  easily  forced  open  and 
the  chapel  abruptly  entered.  Here  the  lieutenant  made  known 
the  object  of  his  mission.  The  rector  stoutly  replied  that  the  col- 
lege of  Asuncion  had  been  erected  by  permission  of  Philip  II., 
that  they  exercised  their  privileges  by  grant  of  the  king,  and  that, 
of  their  own  accord,  they  would  neither  abandon  the  one  nor  re- 
linquish the  other.  Villasanti,  being  a  man  of  action,  not  of  words, 
retorted  by  a  signal  to  his  men,  who  made  a  disorderly  attack  upon 
every  thing  that  came  within  their  reach ;  the  fathers  were  driven 
out  of  the  college,  the  sick  dragged  from  their  beds ;  all  were  hur- 
ried to  the  boats  that  awaited  them  on  the  river,  and,  cast  adrift 
with  few  provisions,  and  many  without  oars,  were  exposed  to  the 
mercy  of  the  current. 

The  college  was  ransacked  and  plundered  throughout,  the  plate 
on  the  high  altar  stolen,  and  every  thing  of  value  pillaged  from  the 
chapel.  Two  statues,  representing  St.  Ignatius  and  St.  Xavier,  the 
great  missionary  of  Japan,  after  going  through  a  sufficiently  disfig- 

*  Charlevoix,  vol.  ii.,  p.  30. 


DOWNFALL  OF  THE  BISHOP.  49I 

uring  process,  were  thus  converted  into  St,  Paul  and  St.  Peter,  re- 
maining about  as  resemblant,  perhaps,  as  the  antique  busts  of  the 
Roman  emperors  resemble  their  great  originals.  A  picture  of  the 
Savior,  clothed  in  the  habit  of  a  Jesuit,  a.  fancy' which  the  writers 
of  the  order  excuse  or  account  for  by  saying  that  he  appeared  so 
"  to  the  famous  Donna  Maria  de  Escobar,  whose  memory  is  still 
held  in  veneration  all  over  Spain"  (Charlevoix),  was  severed  at 
the  neck  so  as  to  preserve  the  head,  and  the  rest  burned.  Finally, 
after  making  a  wreck  of  the  interior  of  the  building,  an  attempt 
was  made  to  pull  down  the  wooden  steeple,  but  they  succeeded 
no  farther  than  in  drawing  it  from  its  perpendicular  position. 

This  triumph  was  very  short-lived.  Don  Bernardin  must  an- 
swer for  these  high-handed  measures,  a.  consequence  of  which  he 
was  perfectly  aware,  but  no  one  knew  better  than  himself  how 
to  act  under  such  circumstances.  He  was  prompt  in  making  his 
own  representations  to  the  Audience  of  Charcas ;  he  wrote  volu- 
minously to  that  body,  and  so  far  fortified  himself  as  to  send  a 
special  envoy  to  Madrid  ;  he  had  a  voice  in  every  assembly  or  de- 
Hberation  which  was  to  pass  censure  or  approval  upon  his  conduct ; 
but  in  this  instance  all  his  endeavors  were  futile.  He  was  baffled 
in  every  manoeuvre ;  he  failed  in  every  attempt,  and  was  sum- 
moned to  Peru ;  while  Don  Sebastian  de  Leon  was  appointed  to 
see  that  the  summons  was  obeyed.  That  functionary  approached 
Asuncion,  followed  by  several  thousand  reduction  Indians.  Hear- 
ing of  this  expected  force  sent  against  him,  Don  Bernardin  was 
rash  enough  to  oppose  it ;  the  two  forces  met,  but  the  bishop  lost 
the  day.  It  remained  for  him  to  yield,  with  the  best  possible  grace, 
at  a  time  when  he  thousfht, 

"Good,  easy  man,  full  surely 
His  greatness  was  a  ripening." 

But,  like  the  cardinal,  he  had  ventured  in  a  sea  of  glory  far  be- 
yond his  depth.  In  March,  1651,  he  returned  to  La  Plata,  enter- 
ing his  native  city  in  triumph.  There,  in  retirement,  he  passed 
the  rest  of  his  days,  after  a  restless  and  scheming  career,  excused 
by  no  wholesome  purposes  and  attended  with  little  ultimate  suc- 
cess. 

The  first  step  of  the  party  now  in  power  was  to  recall  the  Jes- 
uits. The  edicts  fulminated  against  them  by  Don  Bernardin  were 
publicly  burnt;  the  censures  passed  upon  them  were  removed; 
their  much-derange'd  temporal  affairs  were  restored  to  a  more 
healthy  condition ;  the  college,  almost  a  rum,  underwent  the  nee- 


492  TRIUMPH  OF  THE  JESUITS. 

essary  repairs ;  tlie  statues,  pictures,  vases,  candelabras,  and  col- 
umns that  had  been  carried  off  were  restored ;  all  the  pillages  and 
spoliations  they  had  suffered  were  handsomely  remunerated. 

As  one  enemy  disappeared  another  rose  up  against  the  perse- 
cuted Jesuits.  At  this  time  Spain  and  Portugal  were  still  at  war. 
King  John,  desperately  fighting  for  a  nation's  independence  and 
a  throne,  was  not  scrupulous  as  to  the  means  to  be  employed, 
and  so  gave  his  nod  of  assent  to  the  Mamelucos  in  a  fresh  attempt 
they  were  about  to  make  to  reduce  the  missions.  At  the  latter 
part  of  1651,  this  expedition,  composed  of  four  separate  divisions, 
was  put  in  motion.  The  Spanish  authorities,  now  conscious  that  it 
was  their  best  and  only  policy  to  oppose  these  bandits,  prepared 
to  resist  them,  and  sent  word  to  the  reductions  to  assist  them  with 
whatever  force  they  could  collect.  Happily  the  country  was  in  a 
state  of  internal  quiet,  and  the  authority  of  the  Jesuits  such  as  to 
enable  them  to  act  promptly  and  decisively.  Before  any  of  the 
government  forces  from  Asuncion  appeared  in  sight  of  the  enemy 
the  fathers  had  assembled  their  neophytes,  furnished  them  with 
fire-arms,  advanced  against  the  Paulistas,  and  repulsed  them  in 
every  direction ;  then,  sharply  wheeling  upon  the  Guaycurus,  who 
had  taken  advantage  of  the  occasion  and  thought  to  join  in  the 
plunder,  they  annihilated  them  at  a  blow. 

This  was  neither  the  first  nor  the  last  occasion  upon  which 
these  Guarani  Indians  rendered  eminent  services  to  the  govern- 
ment. They  drew  even  from  the  gold-thirsty,  fortune-seeking 
Spaniards  a  tardy  acknowledgment  of  their  good  and  loyal  con- 
duct, and  an  acquiescence  in  whatever  grants  and  privileges  the 
king  may  have  been  pleased  to  grant  them.  Indeed  their  services 
were  not  to  be  despised,  for  they  formed  a  strong  defense  along 
the  boundary  of  Spanish  America  most  open  to  attack.  Under 
the  strict  discipline  of  the  fathers  many  had  conceived  a  fondness 
for  and  become  adepts  in  the  art  of  war;  in  all  their  engagements 
with  the  Paulistas  since  the  return  of  the  deputies  they  had  been 
successful.  The  last  repulse  settled  the  question  of  superiority, 
and  associated  with  the  reductions  quite  a  military  prestige.  At 
later  periods  these  natives  distinguished  themselves  not  a  little  as 
allies  of  the  Spanish.  More  than  once  the  Portuguese,  before 
Buenos  Ayres,  had  reason  to  admire  their  courage  and  the  perfect 
discipline  under  which  they  acted ;  more  than  once  they  had  been 
worsted  by  them,  and  learned  to  dread  them  as  much  as  they  ever 
feared  the  Spanish.     At  Montevideo,  also,  in  the  disputes  about 


THE  REDUCTION  INDIANS.  493 

« 

Nova  Colonia  and  in  many  other  instances,  the  reduction  In- 
dians rendered  effectual  assistance.  In  times  of  peace  they  never 
decUned  aid  in  the  construction  of  public  works.  Upon  the  ca- 
thedral of  Buenos  Ayres,  the  citadel,  and  fortifications  of  the  port 
they  were  diligently  and  perseveringly  engaged;  in  other  cities 
and  towns  they  likewise  assisted  in  the  erection  of  churches  and 
public  buildings.  Many  forts  and  important  military  posts  sprang 
up  from  their  labors,  under  the  skillful  direction  of  the  mission- 
aries, and  many  flourishing  towns  were  built  by  them  alone.  Oft- 
en had  they  defended  these  from  the  attacks  of  unfriendly  In- 
dians, or  from  the  more  alarming  advances  of  an  outside  enemy. 
Yet  how  small  and  uncharitable  was  the  return  they  met  with. 


CHAPTEE  XXYm. 


Fathers  placed  in  charge  of  the  Missions :  their  Duties  and  Power. — Opinions  and 
Researches  of  Azara. — Foundation  of  St.  Joachim  and  of  Belen. — Means  and 
Measures  adopted. — Jesuit  Reduction. — College. — Dispensary,  Gardens. — The 
Arsenal  and  Soldiery. — Sham-fights. — The  Church:    its  Splendor. — Music. — 

Attendance  at  Church  Service. — Fetes  and  Processions. — Clothing. — Schools. 

Police  System. — Daily  Life. — Labor  in  the  Fields. — Christian  Republic. — Social 
Equality. — Mercantile  Restrictions. — God's  Inheritance. 

So  far  this  brief  review  of  incidents  does  not  embrace  what, 
probably,  with  the  generality  of  readers,  most  excites  an  interest 
in  the  history  of  the  Jesuit  missions  of  South  America.  The  dis- 
putes of  governors  and  bishops,  the  dissensions  of  rehgious  and 
laymen,  the  expulsion,  at  different  times,  of  the  order,  the  contin- 
uous contest  with  the  Paulistas,  yield  to  a  different  phase  of  the 
subject.  A  system  is  firmly  established  so  marked,  so  peculiar 
in  itself,  and  yet  rising  to  all  appearances  from  so  natural  an  or- 
der of  things  as  to  claim  at  least  some  passing  consideration. 

What  was  a  Jesuit  reduction  ?  In  what  relation  did  the  mis- 
sionary stand  toward  his  people,  and  they  to  one  another  ?  What 
was  their  political  and  social  organization?  Following  these  es- 
tablishments in  their  advance  to  civilization  and  power,  we  pause 
to  note  the  means  and  causes  of  the  ascendency  which  they  at- 
tained. Here  we  meet  with  contradictions  not  easily  reconciled. 
The  only  histories  of  the  South  American  missions  are  by  the 
Jesuits  employed  in  them,  or  by  Spaniards — men  of  their  own 
faith,  but  who  seem  ever  to  have  regarded  the  labors  of  the  fa- 


494  THE  JESUIT  SYSTEM. 

thers  witli  distrust  and  enmity.  Both  parties  present  us  witla  a 
picture  of  life,  of  a  people,  of  a  polity  unexampled  in  history ; 
and  if  simplicity  of  government  conduces  to  the  happiness  of  the 
human  family,  we  have  here  a  wonderful  example  of  it. 

It  is  of  primary  importance  that  we  should  impress  upon  our- 
selves the  fact  that  this  success  was  mainly  due  to  the  peculiar  com- 
position of  the  Jesuit  missionary,  the  training  which  so  fitted  and 
girded  him  for  the  life  here  portrayed ;  but  above  all  to  that  unity 
of  spirit  and  action  visible  in  the  whole  order,  how  diverse  so- 
ever its  pursuits  or  varied  its  acquirements.  Priests,  statesmen, 
astronomers,  captains,  artisans,  every  profession,  every  art  and 
trade,  are  found  represented  among  its  members.  It  possessed 
every  natural  element  for  settling  and  civilizing  the  wildest  and 
most  distant  countries.  "  The  vast  shore  washed  by  the  farthest 
sea"  was  accessible  to  the  Jesuit.  Never  have  men,  moreover, 
discharged  a  duty  or  attained  an  end  with  more  unflinching  forti- 
tude, or  evinced  a  more  lofty  disregard  of  danger.  It  was  not  of 
uncommon  occurrence  that  the  sermon  should  serve  the  purposes 
of  the  general's  proclamation,  or  the  missionary  lead  from  the 
sanctuary  to  the  battle,  where  in  the  hottest  of  the  fight  one  father 
might  be  seen  binding  up  the  hurts  of  the  wounded,  and  another 
administering  the  last  sacrament  to  the  dying.  In  time  of  peace 
they  planned  towns,  built  churches,  drew  up  municipal  regula- 
tions, instructed  in  the  schools,  drilled  the  soldiers — for  every 
able-bodied  native  was  a  soldier — and  judged  in  all  matters; 
though  there  were  nominal  courts  and  tribunals  presided  over  by 
robed  natives.  Their  authority  was  absolute,  disputed  by  none, 
unless  occasionally  by  some  governor  or  bishop  of  Asuncion  or 
Buenos  Ayres.  The  master's  power  over  the  slave  could  not  be 
more  unquestioned  than  that  of  the  father  in  charge  of  a  mission. 

To  each  reduction,  in  proportion  to  its  population,  were  attach- 
ed two  or  three  priests.  In  one,  the  chief,  was  vested  all  spiritual 
control ;  to  the  other  was  intrusted  a  necessary,  watchful,  and  dil- 
igent superintendence  of  its  temporal  concerns.  At  the  head  of 
all  the  Paraguay  missions — each  of  which  was,  according  to  Ulloa, 
"  like  a  family  governed  by  a  wise  and  affectionate  parent"* — was 
a  superior,  who  resided  at  Candelaria,f  and  had  the  general  super- 

*  A  Voyage  to  South  America,  by  Don  Antonio  de  Ulloa :  translated  by  John 
Adams,  Esq.     London,  1806,  vol.  ii.,  p.  182. 

t  Founded  1627.  Latitude  27°  26'  46",  longitude  58°  T  34"  west  of  Paris. 
Tableau  des  Peuplades  forme'es  par  les  Jesuites.     Azara,  vol.  ii.,  p.  260. 


THE  JESUITS  AND  THE  INDIANS.  495 

vision  of  the  Christian  republic.  He  also  exercised  the  power  of 
appointing  the  assistant  Jesuits,  under  whom  there  were  many 
subordinate  offices  filled  by  the  natives. 

There  are  minor  cogs  and  wheels  to  this  machinery,  and  the 
unison  of  all  its  parts  is  due  to  causes,  circumstances,  and  appli- 
ances worthy  of  note.  Its  perfect  adaptation  to  the  native  popu- 
lation must  have  arisen  from  wise  and  artful  measures — a  very 
possible  and  very  Jesuitic  combination.  So  firm  a  footing  in  so 
vast  a  country  is  not  to  be  traced  to  weak  brains  or  distrustful  in- 
struments. Many  and  different  means  tended  to  the  accomplish- 
ment of  the  one  great  work.  Azara  discusses  the  subject  with 
animosity  against  the  fathers,  much  of  which,  though  evidently 
unjust  and  proceeding  from  a  fixed  prejudice,  yet  does  not  per- 
mit us  to  totally  disregard  his  opinions  and  observations.  He  is 
slow  to  make  any  acknowledgment  in  favor  of  the  missionaries ; 
he  mercilessly  pursues  and  investigates  all  their  labors,  how  de- 
serving soever  they  may  be  apparently,  and  would  attribute  the 
foundation  of  the  reductions  more  to  the  fears  inspired  by  the 
Portuguese  of  St.  Paul  than  to  any  persuasive  powers  of  the  fa- 
thers themselves,  or  any  merit  in  their  system. 

True  it  is,  the  establishment  of  the  Paraguay  missions  took  place 
parti}''  at  times  when  the  Paulistas  were  devastating  the  country, 
and  we  can  readily  infer  that,  exposed  to  this  pursuit,  the  Indians 
were  rejoiced  to  find  the  shelter  which  the  fathers  afforded  them. 
This  undoubtedly  increased  to  an  extent  the  population  of  the 
reductions,  but  does  not  account  for  that  strange  influence  which 
Jesuit  teachings  seemed  to  bear  with  them  upon  the  Indian's  un- 
tutored mind.  Fear  of  the  Mamulucos  did  not  lay  the  founda- 
tions of  the  early  missions  of  Guayra,  nor  is  any  such  agency  to 
be  found  in  the  rise  of  those  of  Chiquitos  and  Moxos.  At  the 
same  time  there  can  be  little  doubt  that  numbers  of  the  Guarani 
race,  persecuted  on  the  one  side  by  the  Spanish  and  on  the  other 
by  the  less  clement  Paulistas,  clung  to  the  Jesuits  as  an  all-pro- 
tecting safeguard  and  refuge.  They  might  have  retreated. for  a 
time  to  the  inmost  depths  of  their  forests,  and  there  sought  the 
peace  which  had  been  so  ruthlessly  disturbed ;  but  even  those 
wilds  could  not  have  afforded  them  the  security  they  eventually 
enjoyed  in  open  day  under  the  fathers.  The  Jesuits  from  the 
first  became  their  champions ;  and  we  must  believe  that  their  pos- 
session of  and  continuance  in  this  power  was  due  as  much  to  the 
self-sacrificing  spirit  of  the  order  as  to  intrigue  or  accidental  cir- 


496  MEASURES  OE  THE  JESUITS. 

cumstances,  thougli  doubtless  there  were  arts  and  policies  best 
known  to  the  fathers  that  served  the  one  end.  We  may  or  we 
may  not  see  dimly  into  these,  for  their  writers  have  been  accused 
of  being  suspiciously  silent  as  to  the  means  employed  in  the  es- 
tablishment of  these  reductions ;  but  there  may  have  been  noth- 
ing to  disclose,  there  may  be  nothing  now  to  drag  out  into  the 
light. 

The  missions  rise  throughout  the  country,  increasing  in  wealth 
and  population  and  possessed  of  no  ordinary  civilization ;  yet  it 
is  difficult  to  follow  them  through  all  the  phases  of  this  progress. 
We  know  that  the  efforts  of  the  founders  were  crowned  with  suc- 
cess, but  the  inner  work  of  the  fabric  has  been  dimmed  by  time, 
if  not  lost ;  or  is  presented  to  us  only  through  the  exaggerations 
or  prejudices  of  Jesuits  or  Spaniards.  The  father  finds  his  way 
to  some  distant  unknown  tribe,  unattended  and  unarmed.  He 
throws  himself  completely  on  their  mercy ;  but  his  mission  is  one 
of  peace ;  he  is  a  chosen  successor  of  the  great  apostle,  and  soon 
inspires  a  mysterious  reverence  for  his  person.  There  is  some- 
thing fearless  and  imposing  in  his  speech  that  does  not  fall  harsh- 
ly upon  the  Indian's  ear.  Christian  life  and  religion  he  depicts 
with  a  marvelous  eloquence  that  touches  the  heart  of  the  savage. 
Nor  does  he  forget  that  it  is  well  to  be  wary;  he  is  mindful  of 
temporal  advantages,  and  avails  himself  of  a  knowledge  of  savage 
instincts.  His  promises  are  profuse ;  he  is  willing  to  accord  much, 
and  only  asks  in  return  obedience  to  the  cross.  So  were  the  old 
Loreto  and  the  new  Loreto  founded ;  San  Ignatius,  San  Xavier, 
and  St.  Thomas  sprung  into  existence,  and  were  soon  numbered 
among  thirty  prosperous  reductions.  They  are  populous,  power- 
ful, and  civilized.  Their  future  history  is  well  defined  ;  the  early 
stages  only  are  obscure. 

We  have  referred  to  Azara,  whose  information  of  these  mis- 
sions was  obtained  while  in  the  country  itself,  and  associating 
with  men  whose  recollections  of  the  Jesuit  rule  were  still  fresh 
in  their  memories.  He  relates  as  follows  of  the  founding  of  St. 
Joachim : 

Wishing  to  establish  a  mission  among  this  branch  of  the  Gua- 
rani  family,  the  fathers  first  sent  them,  by  Indians  of  their  own 
reductions,  offerings  of  some  trifling  value,  pleasing  to  Indian 
fancy.  This  preliminary  treating  was  repeated  several  times  be- 
fore taking  more  decisive  steps.  These  gifts,  they  were  told, 
came  from  a  Jesuit  who  loved  them  much  and  was  desirous  of 


FOUNDING  OF  SAN  JOACHIM.  497 

living  among  tliem ;  that,  if  so  permitted,  the  father  would  bestow 
upon  them  things  of  far  greater  price,  that  they  might  live  with- 
out labor.  He  would  bring  them  cattle,  iron,  and  every  useful 
article ;  he  would  build  them  houses,  give  them  clothing,  attend 
to  the  sick,  and  extend  to  the  whole  people  every  care.  Such 
conditions  were  tempting ;  they  flattered  too  much  the  natural 
indolence  of  the  Guarani  to  be  disregarded.  Thus  a  way  was 
opened  to  some  apparently  good  and  generous  Jesuit,  who,  at- 
tended by  a  number  of  Christian  natives,  started  on  this  expedi- 
tion, bearing  presents,  and  driving  before  them  cattle  for  the  use 
of  the  expected  converts.  Arrived  in  the  midst  of  his  newly- 
adopted  children,  the  plans  for  a  town  were  laid,  the  fathers  at 
•  the  same  time  keeping  a  vigilant  watch  over  the  cattle.  They 
soon  disappeared,  however,  as  the  Indians  thought  of  nothing  but 
eating.*  Provisions  must  needs  be  abundant,  for  to  satisfy  the 
palate  was  indispensable  in  view  of  successfully  administering  a 
healthful  spiritual  food.  He  who  was  fed  the  best  was  generally 
the  most  speedily  converted  to  the  true  faith,  and  made  the  best 
Christian — at  least  in  the  way  of  telling  beads  and  in  submitting 
to  Jesuit  authority.  He  who  was  neglected  in  this  respect  pre- 
ferred aboriginal  independence,  and  subsistence  obtained  by  his 
bow  and  arrows.  Hence  the  flocks  and  fields  required  the  same 
constant  watchfulness  as  those  of  the  Church.  Says  Dobrizhoffer, 
quaintly:  "If,  according  to  St.  Paul,  among  other  natives  faith 
enters  by  the  ear,  with  the  savages  of  Paraguay  it  can  only  be 
thrust  in  by  the  mouth." 

St.  Joachim  grew  and  prospered ;  numerous  houses  were  built, 
and  soon  a  church  faced  the  great  square.  An  abundance  of  corn 
and  cotton  followed  a  general  and  diligent  cultivation  of  the  land. 
The  Indians  were  elated  with  the  change  beyond  all  expectation  ; 
they  were  for  the  present  in  the  enjoyment  of  an  easy,  indolent 
kind  of  life,  as  unlooked  for  as  it  was  novel.  But  it  was  never 
understood  that  the  treasury  should  be  drained  by  too  long  a  con- 
tinuation of  this  course.  The  necessary  advances  had  already  been 
made;  it  was  now  time  to  halt,  that  the  Indians  might  be  im- 
pressed with  the  necessity  of  working  for  themselves.  Azara  again 
explains :  "  Assembling  them  one  day  the  father  appealed  to  their 
sense  of  right ;  it  was  neither  just  nor  proper  that  their  friends  and 
brothers,  the  Guarani,  brought  from  other  reductions,  should  con- 
tinue to  labor  for  them ;  they  should  begin  to  assist  themselves  ; 

*  Azara,  vol.  ii.,  p.  228. 

32 


498  FOUNDING  OF  BELEN. 

there  was  much  need  of  cultivation  in  the  fields ;  some  simple 
trade  could  be  easily  acquired,  and  the  women  could  learn  to  spin 
cotton."  They  were  probably  at  the  same  time  impressed  with  the 
fact  that  all  these  were  most  agreeable  and  Christian-like  occupa- 
tions, such  as  were  commanded  by  the  Church.  The  converted 
Indians  were  instructed  to  make  similar  entreaties.  Some  re- 
turned to  their  wilds,  many  yielded,  and  from  that  time  St.  Jo- 
achim became  one  of  the  most  important  of  the  missions. 

These  gentle  measures,  though  comporting  with  the  docile  Gua- 
rani  character,  proved  impotent  in  other  quarters,  where  fiercer 
dispositions  had  to  be  encountered ;  and  hence  led  to  more  strin- 
gent measures  for  the  success  of  the  proposed  reduction.  The 
foundation  of  Belen,'*  in  all  but  the  preliminaries,  is  a  different » 
story  from  that  of  St.  Joachim.  The  gifts  were  sent,  and  the  Jes- 
uit, numerously  attended,  arrived  at  his  destination  among  the 
Mbayas — a  warlike  race  who  discovered  no  charms  in  the  mission 
"community"  life.  The  father's  eloquence  neither  moved  their 
hearts,  nor  did  his  material  offerings  affect  their  senses.  The  chase, 
as"  a  means  of  subsistence,  was  preferable  to  agricultural  labor. 
The  caciques,  moreover,  declined  assigning  to  others  the  power 
they  exercised  over  their  respective  districts — a  power,  it  is  well 
known,  which  the  Jesuits  were  never  willing  to  share.  So  the 
father's  schemes  must  have  been  thwarted  but  for  a  well-timed 
stratagem,  which  seemed  at  once  to  remove  all  difficulties.  There 
was  every  facility  for  carrying  it  into  effect.  Under  the  plea  of 
concluding  a  treaty  with  the  Chiquitos,  among  whom  there  were 
at  this  time  numerous  missions,  the  fierce  chiefs  opposed  to  the 
cause  of  the  Church  were  enticed  beyond  the  confines  of  their  ter- 
ritories. The  most  cordial  reception  awaited  them  on  the  part  of 
the  reduction  Indians.  Numbers  of  friendly  allies  flocked  to  greet 
them ;  bands  of  music  were  in  continuous  attendance,  and  every 
kind  of  native  amusement  or  festivity  was  called  into  requisition, 
that  the  welcome  might  admit  of  no  distrust.  Thus  the  snares 
were  well  laid.  The  unsuspecting  chiefs  manifested  unbounded 
gratification,  while  the  secret  plans  of  the  Jesuits  for  securing  their 
persons  were  being  brought  to  maturity.  Suddenly,  in  the  night, 
and  at  the  sound  of  a  bell,  their  universal  signal,  the  Mbaya  ca- 
ciques were  attacked,  bound  hand  and  foot,  thrown  into  prison, 
and  not  released  until  the  final  expulsion  of  the  order.    But, 

*  Founded  in  1760. 


ECONOMY  OF  A  REDUCTION.  499 

though  the  chief  obstacles  were  thus  removed,  Belen  never  rose  to 
the  full  dignity  of  a  mission.* 

These  are  the  two  examples  cited  by  Azara,  and  thus,  according 
to  him,  were  the  Paraguay  reductions  established.  It  is  not  gen- 
erally understood,  however,  that  coercion  was  ever  employed  in 
the  great  work  of  conversion  ;  at  least  we  have  no  evidence  of  it, 
nor  any  declaration  to  that  effect  except  from  our  previously-men- 
tioned author,  who  may  have  been  too  happily  confident  in  the 
success  of  his  researches ;  or  he  may  have  confounded  the  in- 
human occurrences  among  the  lay  reductions  with  those  of  the 
fathers.  If  not  governed  by  principle,  the  sagacity  of  the  Jesuit 
discovered  that,  with  the  Indian,  persuasion  effected  more  than- 
force ;  the  Spaniard  never  essayed  the  former  and  ever  abused  the 
latter.  It  was  of  necessity  a  duty  and  an  object  with  the  fathers 
to  overcome  prejudices,  to  dispel  distrust,  to  soothe  all  latent  fears 
by  constant  assurances  of  kindly  feelings  and  by  manifesting  a  pa- 
ternal watchfulness  over  all  affairs  that  came  under  their  direc- 
tion. In  Christian  charity  they  did  not  offer  a  stone  for  bread, 
nor  a  serpent  for  a  fish,  but  opened  to  those  who  knocked,  and  ex- 
tended hospitality  to  all  who  entered.  Unlike  the  Spanish  adven- 
turers their  goal  was  not  hastily-acquired  wealth ;  their  declared 
ambition  was  to  serve  God  and  the  order ;  an  assertion  reversed 
by  their  enemies,  who  say  the  "order  was  first  considered,  and 
then  God.  They  had  neither  impracticable  schemes  nor  dazzling 
projects,  and  so  seldom  failed  in  the  more  rational  aims  they 
proposed  to  further. 

A  Jesuit  reduction  was  a  model  of  order  and  regularity ;  per- 
fect uniformity  was  observed  in  its  long,  comfortably -built  rows 
of  houses,  and  the  small  circuit  of  the  town  offered  every  facility 
for  preserving  its  domestic  tranquillity,  or  insuring  a  ready  de- 
fense against  any  outside  danger.  The  great  square  was  the  cen- 
tre point,  the  public  resort  and  general  rendezvous  of  the  people ; 
upon  it  were  erected  the  church,  the  college,  the  arsenal,  the 
stores,  the  workshops  of  carpenters,  joiners,  weavers,  and  smiths, 
together  with  other  important  public  buildings,  all  assembled  un- 
der the  close  and  unsleeping  vigilance  of  the  fathers.f  The  mis- 
sions of  Moxos  among  other  things  were  noted  for  their  hospitals 

*  Azara,  vol.  ii.,  p.  230-1-2.  This  information  was  obtained  by  Azara  from  the 
caciques  referred  to,  who  were  still  livinp  at  the  time  of  his  stay  in  South  America. 
Dohrizhoffer,  however,  relates  nothing  of  the  kind.     Vide  vol.  i.,  p.  97-98. 

t  Charlevoix,  vol.  i.,  p.  269. 


500  MILITARY  ORGANIZATION. 

and  medicines ;  those  of  Paraguay  enjoyed  tliis  advantage  only 
partially,*  but  they  needed  them  less.  Moxos  is  a  marshy,  fever- 
ish, sickly  country,  while  the  climate  of  Missiones  is  highly  salu- 
brious. At  Concepcion,  however,  was  established  a  very  exten- 
sive dispensary.  The  gardens  attached  to  the  colleges  were  cul- 
tivated with  every  care,  and  may  still  be  traced  in  neglected  yer- 
ba  groves,  or  some  struggling  growth  of  fruit  and  flowers. 

The  church  and  arsenal  were  generally  placed  at  opposite  ex- 
tremities of  the  square.  The  military  depot  of  the  mission  be- 
came a  point  of  considerable  importance  after  De  Montoya's  re- 
turn from  Madrid,  though  the  provisions  of  the  grant  were  strict- 
.  ly  enforced,  and  no  such  dangerous  weapon  as  a  fire-arm  was  ever 
intrusted  to  the  entire  keeping  of  a  Guarani.  Arms  were  dis- 
tributed only  at  stated  times,  and  returned  when  the  occasion  for 
their  use  had  passed ;  but  this  caution  did  not  prevent  a  frequent 
and  regular  drill,  or  even  constant  practice  at  shooting.  Each 
reduction  had  its  body  of  cavalry  and  infantry  and  military  insig- 
nia. The  foot-soldiers  were  variously  armed  with  the  marcana, 
the  bow  and  arrow,  the  sling,  sword,  and  musket ;  the  horsemen 
with  the  sabre,  lance,  and  carbine.  In  the  use  of  the  sling  and 
lance  these  Indians,  as  all  the  Indians  of  La  Plata,  were  most 
skillful;  prizes  were  frequently  awarded  to  the  successful  com- 
petitor in  trials  with  native  weapons  or  fire-arms.  The  great 
square  was  the  Campus  Martins  for  all  such  exercises,  and  there 
every  Monday  the  corregidor  reviewed  his  troops,  the  ofiicers  be- 
ing distinguished  by  their  uniforms,  richly  laced  with  gold  and 
silver,  and  embroidered  with  the  device  of  the  town.f  These 
weekly  evolutions  terminated  usually  with  a  sham-fight.  Equal 
parties  were  formed  and  stationed  at  opposite  extremities  of  the 
square.  A  flag  of  truce  was  first  forwarded,  to  prevent,  if  possi- 
ble, the  coming  disastrous  struggle,  but,  being  treated  with  con- 
tempt, signal  to  battle  was  given,  and  the  combatants  rushed  to  the 
midway  shock.  Always  enthusiastic,  and  even  impetuous  upon 
such  occasions,  the  fight  often  waxed  so  warm  as  to  render  neces- 
sary a  forcible  separation.  This  was  never  difficult,  for  the  fa- 
thers had  carefully  soothed  and  quelled  all  domestic  or  tribal  dis- 
sension. It  was  thus  that  they  acquired  that  experience  and  dis- 
cipline which  finally  enabled  them  to  compete  successfully  with 
the  bandits  of  St.  Paul ;  it  was  this  constant  training  that  made 
their  co-operation  so  effectual  at  Buenos  Ayres,  Montevideo,  and 

*  Charlevoix,  vol.  i.,  p.  272.  f  U^oa,  vol.  ii.,  p.  177. 


THE  CHUKCH.  501 

otlier  places.  And  there  was  another  element  in  this  military 
schooling,  in  that  they  were  taught  to  turn  in  the  same  cheerful 
obedient  spirit  from  a  long  and  doubtful  struggle  to  the  peaceful 
cultivation  of  their  fields,  or  again  to  leave  the  plow  and  grasp 
the  sword  in  defense  of  the  missions — a  cause  as  sacred  in  their 
eyes  as  the  rescue  of  the  Holy  Sepulchre  from  the  infidel  to  the 
crusader. 

The  mission  church,  a  building  of  considerable  and  often  vast 
proportions,  was  constructed  with  an  eye  to  symmetry,  taste,  and 
splendor,  and  was  in  no  respect  inferior  to  those  of  the  Spanish 
cities.  Its  decorations  rivaled  the  "  richest  of  Peru."  No  ex- 
penditure, no  time  or  labor  was  too  great  to  be  devoted  to  this 
sacred  edified;  vast  amounts  were  lavished  upon  it,  and  artists 
and  artisans  continually  engaged  to  add  to  its  magnificence.  The 
surplus  funds  that  remained  in  the  mission  coffers  were  conse- 
crated to  the  high  altar,  which  shone  with  gold  and  silver  vessels 
richly  and  elaborately  chased ;  frescoes  and  paintings,  busts  and 
statues,  illustrative  of  scripture  history  or  the  lives  of  the  saints, 
covered  the  walls  and  ceiling,  lined  the  aisles,  or  were  grouped 
around  the  altars ;  but,  above  all,  their  wood- work  was  brought  to 
a  perfection  which  may  still  be  traced  in  the  missions  of  Santa 
Eosa,  Santiago,  and  others.  All  bespoke  a  wealth  and  civiliza- 
tion unsurpassed  in  Spanish  America. 

The  pomp  and  display  of  the  Komish  Church  were  brought  to 
bear  upon  the  simple  minds  here  instructed  and  developed.  The 
gorgeous  ceremonies  of  high  mass  perhaps  drew  numbers  within 
the  pale  of  Christianity  under  circumstances  that  might  have  ren- 
dered of  no  avail  the  exhortations  of  a  St.  Bernardin.  K  there 
was  no  choir  of  stout,  sonorous-voiced  monks,  there  was  one  of 
neophytes,  who  chanted  with  feeling  and  perfect  intonation  the 
anthems  of  the  Church.  This  important  addition  to  the  sacred 
service  was  never  neglected.  The  Guarani  had  a  fine  musical 
organization — an  ear  delicately  sensitive  to  sound.  He  display- 
ed grace  and  power  in  the.  use  of  the  voice,  and  was  taught  to 
perform  with  facility  upon  various  instruments  of  modern  in- 
vention, but  of  his  own  manufacture.  The  Jesuit  found  in 
him  a  natural,  instinctive  love  of  the  art,  which  needed  but  the 
cultivation  he  was  able  to  impart,  and  each  town,  in  the  course 
of  time,  had  its  bands  and  its  choirs,  and  every  habitable  spot 
resounded  the  day  long  with  their  music.  Charlevoix  thus 
quaintly  alludes  to  the  power  of  song  over  the  Ouarani :  "  The 


502  EITES  AND  CEREMONIES. 

Jesuits  having  observed,  in  their  journeys  by  water,  that  as  soon 
as,  to  recreate  themselves  in  an  innocent  and  holy  manner,  they 
began  to  sing  any  spiritual  canticle,  crowds  of  Indians  flocked  to 
the  banks,  and  seemed  to  take  a  particular  liking  to  their  music : 
they  improved  the  opportunity  to  explain  to  them  the  subject 
of  their  songs,  when,  as  if  the  melody  had  changed  their  hearts, 
and  rendered  them  susceptible  of  the  sentiments  with  which  they 
longed  to  inspire  them,  they  easily  prevailed  upon  the  poor  crea- 
tures to  follow,  and  gradually  insinuated  into  their  hearts  the 
most  elevated  sentiments  of  religion,  thus  realizing  in  these  sav- 
age countries  what  fable  relates  of  Amphion  and  Orpheus."  We 
know  not  whether  the  analogy  will  hold  good,  but  it  is  certain 
that  music  was  a  powerful  instrument  in  the  work  df  the  missions. 

The  attendance  at  church  service  was  exactingly  regular.  On 
such  occasions  the  men  and  women  never  mingled  together.  A 
line  of  separation  was  drawn  down  the  middle  aisle,  and  the  two 
sexes  respectively  occupied  the  thus  divided  sections.  Their  at- 
tention to  the  service,  their  pious  observance  of  all  religious  du- 
ties and  the  minor  formalities  of  prayer,  have  elicited  the  praise 
of  most  writers  of  that  and  subsequent  periods.  But  Azara,  al- 
ways ready  to  criticise  the  aims  and  labors  of  the  fathers,  attrib- 
utes it  to  a  grave,  quiet,  and  peaceful  disposition.  The  first  evi- 
dences of  coming  day  found  the  children  of  the  reduction  assem- 
bled for  morning  prayer,  when  they  chanted  until  the  "  rejoicing 
in  the  east"  signaled  the  whole  town  to  be  present  at  early  mass. 
Baptisms  took  place  in  the  afternoon ;  vespers  and  the  evening 
prayer  completed  the  duties  of  the  day,  when  each  one  retired  to 
his  house.     Marriages  were  celebrated  only  on  festive  days. 

Fond  of  music  and  the  dance,  given  to  martial  display,  gay  and 
lively  in  disposition,  as  were  the  Guarani,  it  is  not  astonishing  that 
the  fetes  of  the  Church  should  have  been  events  in  the  Paraguay 
reductions,  celebrated  by  long  and  dazzling  processions,  and  by 
the  rejoicings  of  the  whole  people.  That  of  the  sacrament  ap- 
pears to  have  eclipsed  all  others.  The  zoology  and  the  botany 
of  these  fruitful  regions  of  creation  were  represented  on  such  oc- 
casions. The  matting  which  covered  the  way  was  strewn  with 
evergreens;  arches  were  erected  at  short  distances  apart,  not 
decked  with  banners  and  devices,  but  green  branches ;  tropical 
plants  and  superb  flowers  enriched  the  atmosphere  with  their 
fragrance ;  attached  to  these  were  birds  of  every  kind  and  color, 
with  sufficient  scope  allowed  them  to  fly  free  in  the  air.    "  Nature 


SCHOOLS.  503 

appeared,  if  I  may  so  speak,"  says  Charlevoix,  by  way  of  a  re- 
sume, "  all  life  and  soul  upon  the  occasion."  To  render  the  pa- 
geant more  imposing,  they  assembled  wild  beasts  from  the  forests 
and  fishes  from  the  neighboring  rivers.  Lions*  and  tigers  were 
chained  at  different  points,  and  huge  vases  of  piscatory  specimens 
added  to  the  general  enlivenment.  The  public  buildings  and 
houses  of  the  town  were  hung  with  tapestry — in  the  embroidering 
of  which  the  women  excelled — covered  with  wreaths  and  flowers, 
the  most  superb  of  any  in  the  world. 

The  musicians,  dancers,  and  choir-boys  led  the  procession ;  the 
priest  followed,  wafer  in  hand,  covered  by  a  canopy  carried  by 
the  cacique  and  corregidors,  resplendent  in  the  costly  apparel 
worn  during  these  festive  displays.  Behind  the  sacrament  was 
borne  the  royal  standard,  and  the  military,  all  brilliantly  capari- 
soned, brought  up  the  rear.  In  this  order  they  paraded  through 
the  mission,  and  after  mass  partook  of  a  public  banquet.  Ulloa, 
one  of  the  best  authorities  in  this  connection,  and  frequently  quot- 
ed by  Charlevoix,  says :  ''  In  short,  these  neophytes  omit  no  cir- 
cumstance either  of  festivity  or  devotion  practiced  in  the  most 
opulent  cities  of  old  Spain." 

The  chief  article  of  clothing  was  cotton,  for  the  genial  climate 
of  Paraguay  rendered  necessary  no  heavy  vesture.  Short  breech- 
es and  shirts  were  made  for  the  men,  loose  gowns  for  the  women, 
and  with  the  latter  a  cotton  cap  was  not  uncommon  as  a  covering 
for  the  head. 

Much  attention  was  paid  to  the  schools.  Early  training  was 
very  properly  regarded  as  the  key  to  all  future  success.  That 
the  Spanish  language  should  never  have  been  taught  is  considered 
by  many  a  sufficient  evidence  that  the  Jesuits  were  not  looking 
dimly  into  the  future.  Excuses  were  not  unfrequently  offered  for 
this  omission  in  their  course  of  instruction  by  the  fathers.  They 
pleaded  the  simplicity  of  the  Guarani's  mind,  the  impossibility 
of  his  ever  acquiring  a  language  possessed  of  such  difficulties,  al- 
though they  succeeded  in  making  the  Latin  of  the  Church  very 
familiar  to  him.  If  the  establishment  of  a  hierocracy  were  con- 
templated, it  is  but  another  evidence  of  Jesuit  sagacity ;  for  isola- 
tion is  always  essential  to  success,  and  ignorance  of  the  Spanish 
tongue  was  the  most  formidable  obstacle  that  could  be  placed  be- 
tween the  Indian  and  the  Spaniard. 

*  It  would  seem  needless  to  remark  that  the  so-called  lion  of  South  America  is 
an  altogether  different  animal  from  the  African.^ 


I 


504  DAILY  LIFE. 

Finally  there  grew  into  existence  among  the  missions  an  insti- 
tution for  which  there  was  never  any  actual  necessity,  and  which 
foreshadowed  further  evil  consequences.  It  was  the  police.  It 
first  consisted  merely  of  a  nightly  watch  for  the  purpose  of  pre- 
venting dissensions  or  wanderings  from  the  reductions ;  but  it  was 
enlarged  to  a  passport  system,  stringent  in  all  its  acts  and  hostile 
to  the  stranger.  The  Jesuit  writers  speak  in  high  terms  of  this 
police.  It  may  have  tended  to  preserve  the  order  and  discipline 
for  which  the  missions  were  noted ;  but  it  was  one  of  the  causes 
that  precipitated  them  to  their  iinal  ruin. 

Daily  life  among  the  Guarani  was  one  of  military  order  and  reg- 
ularity. Alfred  divided  the  day  into  three  equal  parts,  assigning 
to  each  the  duties  which  were  to  engage  his  mind;  bat  here  we 
have  a  whole  population,  extending  over  a  vast  tract  of  country, 
subjected  to  restrictions  and  regulations  timed  like  the  rising  and 
setting  of  the  sun.  To  the  most  insignificant  occupation  was  at- 
tached a  stated  time.  There  were  hours  marked  for  laboring  in 
the  field,  for  working  in  town,  for  retiring  at  night,  for  rising  in 
the  morning,  and  they  were  most  rigidly  enforced.  The  reduc- 
tion moved  and  had  its  being,  as  it  were,  with  the  precision  of 
clock-work.  The  people  prayed,  toiled,  ate,  and  slept  so  long  and 
no  longer ;  from  one  duty  or  employment  they  passed  to  another 
like  soldiers  changing  guard,  equally  participating  in  the  charges 
of  the  day,  each  one  undergoing  his  measure  of  fatigue  for  the  one 
and  common  family.  In  going  to  the  fields  natural  indolence  was 
no  excuse  for  straggling  parties  or  lounging  assemblages ;  a  life  of 
military  discipline  did  not  permit  of  habits  which  their  otherwise 
monotonous  existence  might  have  probably  brought  about.  The 
moral  rigor  of  the  Jesuit  was  by  every  possible  means  infused 
into  the  bodily  members  of  the  Guarani.  Formed  in  march- 
ing order  on  the  great  square,  enlivened  by  music,  and  bearing 
a  favorite  statuette  in  lieu  of  a  banner,  they  proceeded  to  the 
working-ground.  There  arrived,  the  first  care  was  to  erect  an 
arbor  for  the  patron  figure,  a  tasteful  covering  of  leaves  and  flow- 
ers ;  then  to  each  man  was  assigned  by  the  capitan  his  duty  for  the 
day.  The  return  was  equally  lively,  and  executed  ift  the  same 
orderly  manner. 

These  missions  have  been  spoken  of  as  forming  what  was  termed 
a  "  Christian  Eepublic."  The  republicanism  seems  to  have  had 
no  other  existence  than  in  the  institution  of  social  equality  among 
the  natives,  that  the  powe^  of  the  actual  rulers  might  be  the  more 


STRICT  GOVERNMENT.  505 

absolute.  Some  Indians  were  necessarily  endowed  with  titles  and 
nominal  powers,  and  were  distinguished  by  carrying  silver  apple- 
headed  canes  as  symbolic  thereof;  but  they  were  the  mere  exec- 
utors of  Jesuit  will.  Azara,  on  the  one  hand,  offers  his  objections 
to  this  polity,  because  he  attributes  to  it  on  the  part  of  the  native 
a  general  inert  state  of  mind  and  body,  and  regards  it  as  having 
offered  no  incentives  to  excellence  in  any  art ;  while  Charlevoix, 
with  other  fathers,  found  in  it  all  the  admirable  principles  and  re- 
sults which  might  exist  in  and  proceed  from  a  political  formation 
of  that  nominal  and  actual  character.  Not  that  there  was  in  real- 
ity any  such  political  formation,  but  that  the  fathers  would  most 
felicitously  overlook  every  consideration  urged  against  the  un- 
questioned rule  vested  in  themselves,  and  present  it  to  the  world 
as  in  no  wise  interfering  with  the  so-called  republicanism  of  the 
reductions.  The  Indian,  thus  subjected  to  the  moral  influence  as 
well  as  to  the  forcible  control  of  the  Jesuit,  may  have  attained  a 
higher  degree  of  civilization  than  would  have  been  possible  under 
a  less  restraining  government ;  but,  at  the  same  time,  this  system, 
so  skillfully  grafted  in  the  native's  mind,  after  a  few  generations 
of  time  brought  his  race  to  that  childish  dependency  which  the 
missionaries,  when  in  danger  of  being  driven  from  their  old  and 
proper  field,  argued  as  unfitting  it  for  actual  sustenance  under  self- 
government.  In  every  relation  of  life  the  Guarani  felt  the  finger 
of  the  Jesuit  father  resting  upon  him,  or  acted  unconsciously  under 
its  guiding  influence.  There  was  no  sensible  burden,  however,  to 
awaken  a  disaffection,  and  amusements  or  festive  displays  added 
to  the  general  contentment.  If  conscious  that  there  were  chains 
gently  riveted  upon  him,  the  native  laughed  and  danced  off  the 
sense  of  enslavement.  The  fathers  were  always  politic  ;  if  their 
government  was  absolute  and  unquestioned,  it  was  administered  in 
a  paternal  spirit  and  faced  with  a  semblance  of  liberty.  They  ac- 
corded to  the  natives  two  or  three  days  of  the  week  to  be  devoted 
to  their  private  interest  or  advantage.  There  was  very  little  actual 
profit  to  be  derived  from  this  apparent  generosity,  for  it  was  never 
the  intention  of  the  fathers  in  granting  these  opportunities  for  free 
labor,  that  the  Indians  should  become  free  merchants  and  trade 
according  to  their  interest  or  pleasure.  They  could  sell  all  their 
produce  to  the  Church,  but  very  strict  prohibition  prevented  it 
ever  passing  the  confines  of  the  missions,  except  under  instructions 
from  a  Jesuit  superior.     The  fathers'  reasons  for  this  regulation 


506  TAEIJA  MISSIONS. 

are  specious  or  just,  as  we  may  be  inclined  to  consider  all  acts  of 
this  character." 

This  contact  with  an  outer  world  could  not  but  have  recoiled 
with  a  ruinous  effect  upon  the  reductions.  Spanish  corruption — 
a  term  of  strong  meaning — would  creep  in  among  a  virtuous,  spot- 
less people.  Spanish  avarice  and  deceit  were  bugbears  ever  to  be 
dreaded  in  a  Christian  republic  of  this  character,  where  no  Indian 
could  lay  claim  to  this  or  that  object,  for  every  spot  was  com- 
mon neutral  ground,  and  what  natural  obstructions  or  climatic  in- 
fluences did  not  permit  them  to  till,  was  called  God's  inheritance. 
"Mine  and  thine"  were  unknown  words ;  they  were  cautiously 
avoided  upon  all  occasions.  Men  worked  for  the  community,  and 
every  thing  belonged  to  the  community  or  its  embodiment,  the 
Jesuits — a  difference  regarded  as  immaterial.  The  Indian  labored 
for  his  spiritual  guardian  and  looked  to  him  for  a  material  return. 


CHAPTER  XXIX. 


Tarija  Missions. — Failures. — Confided  to  Franciscan  Friars. — Spanish  Settlement 
in  the  Province  of  Chiquitos. — Foundation  and  Removal  of  Santa  Cruz  Missions. 
— First  Establishment  by  Father  Arce. — Successive  Reductions. — Native  Of- 
ficials.— Jesuit  System. — Abipones. — Concepcion  and  the  Rosary. — Dobrizhoffer. 
— Voyage  along  the  Coast  of  Patagonia. — Patagonia  Missions. — Revolt  of  In- 
dians.— Cangapol.         * 

A  Jesuit  convent  was  erected  at  Tarija  in  1574,  the  year  of 
the  foundation  of  the  city.  The  Chiriguanos — a  fierce,  warlike 
tribe  that  had  resisted  the  arms  of  Incas  and  Spaniards — occupied 
this  region  of  country.  Although  their  welfare  was  pronounced 
to  be  the  all-absorbing  object  of  the  fathers,  the  mere  announce- 
ment of  disinterested  motives  was  found'  insufficient  to  bend  the 
children  of  the  land  to  this  nominally  spiritual  rule.  Caciques 
who,  in  their  native  strength,  recognized  no  earthly  superior, 
scorned  submission  to  men  in  long  black  frocks  and  of  meek  de- 
meanor. On  the  other  hand  difficulties  were  promptly  met  and, 
to  a  certain  extent,  removed.  A  Jesuit  missionary  never  quailed 
before  the  perils  of  duty  or  the  hazards,  how  imminent  soever,  of 
his  vocation — a  sublime  indifference  to  danger  associated  him  with 
the  wildest  and  most  ferocious  tribes  on  the  continent. 

At  a  very  early  period  after  the  foundation  of  Tarija,  an  at- 


FAILURES.  507 

tempt  was  made  to  establish,  a  mission  on  a  small  brancli  of  the 
Kio  Grande  and  upon  the  present  site  of  Piray.  Its  existence 
was  but  brief.  The  natives  were  not  made  up  of  sufficiently 
credulous  elements  to  place  a  necessary  confidence  in  the  alleged 
purposes  of  the  fathers.  These  they  drove  out.  They  burned 
the  church,  pulled  down  the  cross,  and  threw  the  image  of  St. 
Rosa,  their  patron  saint,  into  a  neighboring  lake.  Potrero — such 
was  its  name — remained  a  heap  of  ruins  until  1768,  when  the 
mission  was  built  anew,  and  intrusted  to  the  only  remaining  re- 
ligious in  the  country,  the  Franciscan  friars.  It  was  then  called 
Mission  de  Nuestra  Senora  de  la  Asuncion  del  Piray,  which  for 
brevity  sake  is  known  at  present  as  Piray.  Not  far  from  this 
town,  and  on  the  Rio  Grrande,  the  Jesuits  also  founded  at  an  early 
period  the  Santissima  Trinidad  de  Abapo,  but  again  they  were 
constrained  to  seek  safety  in  flight.  Abapo,  restored  shortly  aft- 
er the  expulsion  of  the  order,  still  stands. 

In  1690  Father  Arce,  a  zealous  and  indefatigable  missionary, 
extended  his  labors  into  the  valley  of  Salinas,  east  of  Tarija.  His 
efforts  were  at  first  partially  successful.  But  neither  the  Mata- 
guayos  nor  the  Chiriguanos  could  be  induced  to  submit  to  the 
quiet  and  repose  of  a  more  civilized  and  hence  a  more  stationary 
life.  The  fathers  faced  every  obstacle  and  incurred  every  risk 
that  the  lost  sheep  might  be  found,  and  then  had  the  mortification 
of  seeing  them  dispersed  as  fast  as  they  were  collected  together. 
Houses  and  churches  were  built,  but  the  natives  poured  in  and 
out  like  the  water  through  the  bottomless  barrel ;  until,  wearied 
of  the  untiring  perseverance  of  the  missionaries,  the  Chiquiacas 
and  Tariqueas  resolved  to  rid  themselves  of  their  presence  in  sum- 
mary style.  For  this  purpose  they  rose  up  in  revolt,  burned  the 
missions,  and  massacred  several  of  the  fathers,  threatening  the 
rest  with  destruction  if  intrusion  were  again  made  into  their  ter- 
ritory. Frequent  warlike  demonstrations  of  this  character  gave 
an  offensive  and  defensive  aspect  to  the  whole  country,  to  all  its 
little  towns,  hamlets,  and  missions.  The  Tarija  reduction  resem- 
bled an  outpost  or  frontier  fort — a  safe  retreat  for  foraging  parties 
rather  than  a  home  for  converted  natives.  Indeed,  repeated  and 
murderous  assaults  from  outside  Indians  had  rendered  necessary 
the  erection  of  strong  fortifications  and  numerous  guards  to  de- 
fend them. 

But  the  Tarija  missions,  properly  speaking,  do  not  belong  to 
the  Jesuit  period.     The  numerous  reductions  founded  in  that 


508 


LIST  OF  MISSIONS. 


province  date  from  a  time  subsequent  to  tlae  expulsion  of  the  or- 
der and  were  confided  to  Franciscan  friars.  They  are  inclosed  in 
the  annexed  table  as  they  were  in  1799,  with  their  respective  po- 
sitions in  latitude,  population,  and  number  of  head  of  cattle.  The 
authority  is  Fra  Antonio  Tomajuncosa. 


Name  of  Mission. 

Tribe. 

Latitude. 

Population 
in  1799. 

Number  of 
Head  of  Cattle. 

1 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

7 

8 

9 

10 

11 

12 

13 

14 

15 

16 

17 

18 

19 

20 

21 

Piray  

Chiriguanos 

{( 

(( 
11 
(( 
(( 
it 
<( 
(( 



(( 

u 
(( 
(1 
i( 
Chaneses 

18"  40' 
18    42 

18  58 

19  — 
19    24 
19    26 
19    28 
19    31 
19    36 
19    38 
19    39 
19    42 
19    45 
19    58 
19    20 
19    22 
19    28 
19    16 

}■  21    37 

21    18 

j  23    15 

1,630 

493 

1,440 

1,648 

1,384 

550 

313 

877 

553 

1,431 

719 

798 

874 

756 

362 

1,014 

67 

485 

375 

•      387 
520 

1,293 
1,195 

2,784 
2,000 
387 
216 
273 
609 
593 
100 
354 
312 
487 
666 
562 
843 
435 
1,835 

4,727 

916 

2,566 

Florida 

Cabezas 

Abapo 

Mazavi 

Ignuri 

Tacuru 

ZavDuru  

Tapuita 

Tacuarembo 

Boracupiti 

Piriti 

Ubay 

Parabiti 

Tayarenda  

Iti 

La  Tapera 

Azero 

Chiriguanos 

Chaneses 

Salinas ■ 

Itan 

Chiriguanos  and 
Mataguayos... 

Chiriguanos 

Mataguayos     et 
Vejoses 

Centa -j 

16,576 

23,183 

From  Tarija  we  pass  to  Chiquitos. 

Before  giving  particular  and  immediate  attention  to  the  mis- 
sions established  in  this  latter  province,  it  might  not  be  relaxing 
too  much  the  thread  of  our  narrative  to  glance  at  the  first  early 
attempts  at  Spanish  settlement  among  the  natives  of  that  country. 
But  eleven  years  after  Solis  had  steered  his  ship  into  the  broad 
estuary  of  La  Plata,  instead  of  the  waters  of  the  Indies,  and  in  the 
same  year  that  Cabot  sailed  from  Spain  for  a  similar  Dorado  des- 
tination, Alexis  Garcia,  who  had  been  expedited  from  St. Vincent 
— on  the  coast  of  Brazil — to  explore  the  interior  of  Paraguay  ad- 
joining the  territory  of  the  Portuguese  countship,  conceived  the 
bold  project  of  reaching  the  Andes  and  the  golden  land  of  Peru 
across  the  wilds  of  the  Gran  Chaco.  A  perfect  familiarity  with 
the  Guarani  language  gave  him  every  advantage  in  its  execution. 
But  the  few  Spanish  explorers  who  had  accompanied  him  thus 
far  were  too  feeble  an  escort  for  this  perilous  journey ;  so  he  ad- 
dressed himself  for  assistance  to  the  natives  with  whom  he  had 
of  late  been  brought  into  contact.     He  spoke  of  the  wealth  of  this 


EXPEDITION  OF  GAKCIA.  509 

distant  land,  of  the  conquests  he  was  about  to  achieve,  and  of  the 
share  of  plunder  that  would  fall  to  their  lot.  Two  thousand  In- 
dians gathered  around  him  to  enlist  in  the  enterprise  and  ac- 
knowledge him  their  leader.'^  Re-enforced  by  this  band  of  nu- 
merous and  apparently  eager  followers,  the  adventurous  Portu- 
guese pushed  forward  with  the  usual  reckless  daring  of  the  early 
conquistadores.  In  dim  perspective,  down  a  long  vista  of  savage 
dangers,  a  golden  prospect  drew  him  on. 

What  his  exact  course  was  it  would  be  difl&cult  to  say.  He 
probably  reached  the  Paraguay  above  Asuncion,  descending  in  so 
doing,  it  is  said,  a  river  called  Paray,f  and  then,  entering  the 
Chaco,  he  passed  in  a  northwesterly  direction  through  the  south- 
ern portion  of  Chiquitos,  fighting  his  way  through  hordes  of  sav- 
ages, until  he  finally  hailed  the  lofty  mountains  of  present  Bolivia 
or  the  ancient  district  of  Charcas.  Garcia,  pursuing  the  policy  of 
the  Conquistadores,  robbed  and  plundered  in  the  name  of  the  au- 
thority under  which  he  acted.  He  ravaged  the  whole  frontier  of 
Alto  Peru,  bafiied  the  force  the  Inca  (probably  Atahuallpa:}:)  had 
sent  against  him,  and  when  heavily  laden  with  booty  retraced  his 
steps  to  the  Paraguay.  Here  he  dispatched  back  to  St.  Vincent 
two  of  his  three  Portuguese  companions  to  give  an  account  of  all 
that  had  transpired  in  his  remarkable  journey.  Soon  after  their 
departure  he  was  treacherously  murdered  by  the  Indians  who  had 
accompanied  him.§ 

He  perished,  as  did  the  unfortunate  Solis,  by  an  inglorious 
death,  and  when  on  the  eve  of  reaping  the  laurels  he  had  so 
dauntlessly  won.  He  had  made  no  maritime  discovery  to  rival, 
in  the  annals  of  Spanish  America,  those  of  the  chivalrous  Balboa, 
or  that  "  good  old  man"  Sebastian  Cabot,  and  their  historical  asso- 
ciates. But  he  accompUshed  an  inland  journey  which  must  be 
looked  upon  as  a  bold  and  adventurous  feat  even  in  the  age  of 
daring  to  which  it  belongs.  Pizarro  was  lingering  on  the  little 
island  of  Gallo,  when  Garcia,  almost  alone  with  his  Indian  escort, 
first  came  in  view  of  the  lofty  ridges  and  snow-clad  peaks  of  Alto 
Peru;  and  when  the  conqueror  of  Peru  landed  at  Tumbez,  in  the 
Bay  of  Guayaquil,  this  Portuguese  hero  had  met  with  an  untime- 
ly death,  or  we  should  probably  have  seen  his  name  and  deeds 

*  Argentina,  book  i.,  chap,  v.,  by  Ruidiaz  de  Guzman,  conquistador  el  auo  de 
1612.  t  Argentina,  book  i.,  chap,  v.,  p.  24. 

t  It  is  impossible  to  say  at  what  period  of  1526  Huascar  Capue  divided  his 
kingdom  between  the  two  Inca  brothers.  §  Argentina,  book  i.,  chap.  v.        ^ 


510  FAKTHER  EXPEDITIONS. 

enrolled  on  tlie  brightest  pages  of  the  Conquest.  These  lesser 
lights  have  grown  dim  since  Prescott  wrote  of  Mexico  and  Peru, 
but  should  not  be  permitted  to  pass  away  from  us.  If  we  miss 
in  the  Plata  conquest  that  advanced  civilization  among  the  abo- 
rigines which  the  great  Inca  roads  will  record  to  all  time,  the  tale 
is  replete  with  early  adventure  and  thrilhng  withal.  It  enters 
but  meagrely  into  our  subject. 

In  1537,  as  we  have  seen,  Juan  d'Ayolas  ascended  the  Para- 
guay, in  search  of  some  brilliant  conquest,  to  latitude  21°.  Here 
leaving  his  ships  with  Yrala,  he  marched  for  the  country  of  the 
Incas,  the  golden  land.  Like  Garcia,  he  reached  his  proposed 
destination,  and  returned,  elated  with  his  triumph  and  enriched 
with  spoils,  to  perish  at  the  hands  of  Payaguas  Indians.*  Such 
was  the  fate  of  the  two  early  adventurers  who  crossed  into  Boli- 
via ;  tragic  incidents  which  conveyed  in  themselves,  however,  no 
discouragement  to  the  hardy  explorers  of  the  day. 

It  was  five  years  later  that  Nunez  Cabeza  de  Yaca  placed 
Yrala  in  charge  of  an  expedition  to  extend  into  Peru  across  Chi- 
quitos.  His  lieutenant  failed  to  reach  the  diflEicult  goal.  Nunez 
himself,  making  a  similar  effort  in  the  following  year,  met  with 
no  better  success.  Yrala,  again,  after  being  appointed  to  the 
governorship  of  Asuncion,  renewed  his  heretofore  fatile  attempts 
to  unite  the  eastern  and  western  districts  of  the  king's  large  do- 
main. The  new  governor,  with  qualities  which  stamped  him  for 
that  age  and  field  of  life,  was  so  far  successful  upon  this  occasion 
as  to  reach  the  frontier  of  the  Chuquisaca  province.  Thence  he 
sent  Nuflo  de  Chaves  to  wait  upon  the  viceroy ;  but,  on  account 
of  a  rising  discontent  among  his  soldiers,  he  was  forced  to  return 
before  hearing  from  his  lieutenant.  Eventually  Chaves  proved  to 
be  the  fortunate  conquistador  who  was  to  first  couple  his  name 
with  the  establishment  of  a  colony,  intermediate  between  the  al- 
ready conquered  territories  of  Paraguay  and  Peru. 

On  his  return  to  Asuncion  this  ofl&cer  again  embarked  with 
two  hundred  Spaniards  and  several  thousand  Indians,  with  in- 
structions from  Yrala  to  ascend  the  Paraguay  and  found  a  city 
near  its  supposed  head  waters  on  the  lake  of  Xarayes.  '  This  con- 
siderable command  awakened  ambitious  motives  in  the  breast  of 
Chaves ;  for  what  might  not  such  a  force  accomplish  in  the  beau- 
tiful and  fertile  country  of  Chiquitos  ?  The  death  of  Yrala,  which 
happened  shortly  after  his  departure,  confirmed  him  in  his  de- 

*  Argentina,  book  i.,  chap.  xiii. 


SANTA  CRUZ.  511 

signs.  But  while  on  this  high  road  to  fame,  indulging  in  flat- 
tering expectations,  and  building  already  in  air  the  castles  of  his 
new  territory,  he  is  suddenly  accosted  by  a  party  from  Peru, 
headed  by  Andes  Manso,  not  unlike  his  own  in  numbers  and  ap- 
pearance, and  apparently  pursuing  similar  objects.  Mutual  salu- 
tations could  not  dispel  the  diiferences  that  might  arise  from  this 
contact,  and  as  the  coffers  of  neither  one  were  sufficiently  replen- 
ished to  buy  off  the  other,  the  expanded  and  expanding  views  of 
the  two  commanders  brought  them  to  the  very  broad  conclusion 
that  the  vast  interior  of  the  South  American  continent  was  not  of 
sufficient  dimensions  to  contain  them  both.  They  consequently 
referred  the  matter  to  the  Marquis  de  Camette,  Viceroy  of  Peru. 
Chaves  here  had  the  advantage,  for  the  viceroy  was  a  connection, 
and  had  always  entertained,  we  are  told,  an  affection  for  him, 
though  from  reputation  alone,  as  they  had  never  met.  Upon 
him  he  conferred  the  territory  of  Chiquitos  and  a  grant  for  the 
foundation  of  a  city,  much  to  the  discomfiture  of  the  less  fortunate 
Manso.  Hence,  in  1560,  were  laid  the  foundations  of  the  old  city 
of  Santa  Cruz  de  la  Sierra.  Chaves'  government  was  wise  and 
peaceful,  but  short-lived.  He  was  assassinated  by  his  native  sub- 
jects. 

The  site  of  Santa  Cruz  was  for  many  reasons  pronounced  objec- 
tionable. Situated  in  the  heart  of  a  densely -populated  Indian 
country,  grave  impediments  presented  themselves  for  a  free  in- 
tercourse either  with  Paraguay  or  Peru.  Moreover,  it  lay  at  too 
great  a  distance  from  Bolivia.  Communication  with  Asuncion 
was  not  so  important  as  with  Tarija,  Tucuman,  Cordova,  and  other 
westerly  cities,  so  that  in  1592  the  city  was  removed  several  hund- 
red miles  westward,  to  where  it  now  stands.  At  this  distance  of 
time,  with  all  the  implements  of  modern  civilization  at  command, 
we  can  perceive  that  Chaves'  position  was  the  more  judicious  of 
the  two ;  for  did  the  population  of  the  Santa  Cruz  department 
centre  at  present  on  the  waters  of  the  Paraguay,  it  is  probable  that 
the  vast  resources  of  that  interior  country,  rich  in  natural  products 
and  mineral  wealth,  would  have  been  developed  to  a  very  great 
extent.  We  should  not  need  be  told  that  a  broad  and  naviga- 
ble stream  runs  its  course  of  nine  hundred  miles  through  as  fer- 
tile a  country  as  ever  the  sun  shone  upon,  and  yet  undisturbed 
for  the  uses  of  man.  This  city  of  Chaves  would  have  been  the 
great  mart  of  the  interior  of  South  America,  connecting  with  the 
tributaries  of  the  Amazon  and  the  cities  of  Bolivia ;  not  a  mere 


512  FATHER  ARCE. 

point  of  distribution  for  the  daily  wants  of  a  slowly-growing  iso- 
lated population,  but  the  head  and  fountain  of  a  commercial  ac- 
tivity, which  even  Spanish  indolence  could  not  have  restrained. 
We  shall  see  what  was  accomplished  on  a  smaller  scale  by  the 
Jesuit  missions,  following,  from  necessity,  the  direction  of  the  re- 
moved city;  and,  judging  from  their  success,  we  can  conjecture 
what  would  have  been  at  the  present  time  the  old  Santa  Cruz, 
with  an  easy  outlet  to  the  products  which  must  have  poured  into 
its  lap. 

A  year  before  this  change  in  the  locality  of  Santa  Cruz  the  Jes- 
uits entered  the  country.  The  governor  had  written  entreatingly 
to  Tarija,  requesting  the  unfailing  services  of  the  order  in  the 
long-neglected  spiritual  instruction  of  the  natives  throughout  his 
province.  This  led  to  the  appointment  of  Father  Arce,  whose 
long  experience  well  qualified  him  for  the  calling  he  so  eagerly 
embraced  as  missionary  among  the  Chiquitos.  His  arrival  was 
viewed  with  suspicion ;  no  enthusiasm  from  the  people,  who  had 
an  innate  distrust  .of  and  dislike  for  the  Jesuit,  inaugurated  his 
good  work.  The  slave-traffic  generally  ceased  its  existence  wher- 
ever a  father  made  his  appearance ;  and  though  a  mother  and  her 
child  could  at  that  time  have  been  bartered  for  a  sheep  and  lamb,^ 
even  this  was  a  sufficient  consideration  with  the  many  dependent 
upon  the  traffic  to  insist  upon  its  continuation.  Father  Arcd, 
however,  without  farther  exordium  than  to  secure  his  own  per- 
sonal safety  as  best  he  could,  entered  heart  and  hand  upon  his 
newly-assigned  duties.  We  can  imagine  the  difficulties  and  dan- 
gers that  beset  this  father,  and,  at  the  same  time,  his  perfect  disre- 
gard of  them ;  for,  schooled  in  the  failures  and  reverses  of  the  Ta- 
rija missions,  his  composure  was  not  now  to  be  disturbed  nor  his 
courage  to  fail. 

The  Chiquitos  Indians  were  a  comparatively  intelligent  and  in- 
dependent race.  The  more  peaceful  and  stationary  habits  of  the 
Guarani  were  unknown  to  them,  so  that  the  fathers  did  not  meet 
with  the  same  pliant  submission  to  the  rule  proposed  to  be  estab- 
lished over  them.  They  had  warlike  instincts,  were  brave,  and 
excelled  in  all  manly  exercises.  "  A  young  man  found  it  a  hard 
task  to  get  a  wife  until  he  had  given  proofs  of  his  courage,  or  skill 
in  hunting."f  Long-established  religious  rites  and  settled  super- 
stitions were  found  existing  among  them.  They  neither  feared 
nor  worshiped  a  Supreme  Deity,  but  lived  in  great  dread  of  dev- 

*  Charlevoix,  vol.  ii.,  p.  103.  f  Id.,  vol.  ii.,  p.  97. 


THE  CHIQUITOS.  513 

ils.  They  believed  in  tlie  immortality  of  the  soul  or  tlie  body, 
and  interred  provisions  with  the  dead,  together  with  arms  to  sup- 
ply themselves  when  these  should  have  been  consumed.  They 
called  the  moon  their  mother.  On  occasion  of  an  eclipse  they 
imagined  her  to  be  bitten  by  dogs,  and  would  arm  themselves 
with  bows  and  arrows,  shooting  into  the  air  until  the  satellite  re- 
sumed its  wonted  brightness.  Thunder  and  lightning  were  to 
them  occasioned  by  quarrelings  among  the  departed  of  the  tribe 
and  the  heavenly  bodies,  among  which  they  were  supposed  to  take 
up  their  final  abode.  They  took  omens  from  the  howls  of  wild 
beasts  and  chattering  of  parrots.* 

Here  was  an  open  field  for  the  missionary ;  these  mists  Father 
Arce  was  called  upon  to  dispel.  Astronomy,  among  her  sister  sci- 
ences, has  always  been  awarded  the  preference  by  the  Jesuits — 
Coeli  enarrant  gloriam  Dei.  It  has  enabled  them  in  their  peculiar 
vocation  to  associate  in  a  more  religious  spirit  things  visible  with 
the  invisible,  what  we  see  by  day  or  by  night  in  the  firmament 
with  what  may  lie  beyond.  And  we  can  picture  to  ourselves  this 
father  engaged  with  unusual  zeal  in  removing  the  superstitions 
that  had  clustered  around  the  darkened  souls  of  the  tribe,  and  ex- 
plaining to  them  in  simple  language  the  wondrous  mechanism  of 
the  heavens,  tracing  the  whole  to  a  mighty  spiritual  power,  in 
whom  he  would  have  them  believe  and  put  their  trust. 

The  first  fruit  of  his  labors  was  the  establishment  of  San  Xavier, 
in  1691.  Yet  scarce  had  this  much  been  accomplished  when  the 
Mamelucos  of  St.  Paul,  the  Bedouins  of  South  America,  were  an- 
nounced as  pursuing  the  direction  of  his  people.  Defeated  in 
Paraguay  and  on  the  Uruguay,  they  had  extended  their  atrocities 
even  to  the  distant  territory  of  Chiquitos,  and  already  depopulat- 
ed, at  one  fell  swoop,  whole  villages,  men,  women,  and  children. 
The  energetic  measures  of  Father  Arce  soon  put  an  end  to  these 
incursions.  As  the  Chiquitos  lived  mostly  apart  in  families  or 
squads,  a  want  of  unity  had  at  first  given  great  advantage  to  the 
enemy,  who  leisurely  overawed  and  captured  the  small  parties 
that  fell  in  their  way.  But,  well  trained  in  martial  exercises,  the 
natives  presented  a  formidable  appearance  when  banded  together 
into  one  force  and  led  on  to  the  fight  by  their  missionary.  A  few 
Spaniards  also  tendered  them  some  assistance.  The  Mamelucos 
were  defeated,  driven  across  the  Paraguay,  and  never  appeared  on 
its  western  banks  again. 

*  CharlevoLx,  vol.  ii.,  p.  98-9.     D'Oibigny,  vol.  iii.,  p.  32-S. 

33 


514  MISSIONS  AMONG  THE  CHIQUITOS. 

From  this  time  until  the  period  of  their  expulsion  the  Jesuits 
were  supreme  in  power  in  this  province.     Many  other  missions 
followed  that  of  San  Xavier.     In  1696  San  Eaphael  was  built; 
in  1706  San  Jose  and  San  Juan ;  in  1707  Concepcion  and  San 
Ignacio.     The  foundations  of  Santiago*  were  not  laid  until  the 
year  1740,  nor  those  of  Santa  Corazon  until  1751.     Santa  Anna 
and  San  Miguel  were  founded  at  an  earlier  period.*     These  were 
the  most  important  of  the  Chiquitos  Missions.     They  were  not 
unsettled  masses  of  people  attracted  by  beads  and  trinkets  to  hst- 
en  to  the  declamation  of  a  missionary,  but  well-organized  com- 
munities, possessing  every  element  of  civilization  and  all  the  feat- 
ures of  an  orderly  government.     They  offered,  moreover,  very 
peculiar  advantages  for  a  perfect  development  of  this  Jesuit  sys- 
tem, and,  consequently,  to  arrive  at  its  actual  and  reliable  results, 
to  balance  its  faults  against  its  virtues,  we  are  led  to  give  them 
the  preference  over  all  others  in  our  research.     They  occupied  an 
isolated  position,  one  which  made  them  independent  of  Spanish 
manufactories  and  of  Spanish  products,  as  it  freed  them  from  the 
suspicions,  jealousies,  and  animosities  of  governors  and  bishops. 
After  the  chastisement  of  the  Paulistas  they  had,  in  the  enjoy- 
ment of  a  peaceful  and  harmonious  existence,  been  enabled  to  ac- 
quire and  practice  many  industrial  arts.     "While  wranglings,  dis- 
turbances, and  revolts  were  upturning  Paraguay,  and  the  Parana 
missions  bristled  with  arms,  the  neophytes  of  Chiquitos  were  cul- 
tivating their  fields,  establishing  manufactories,  and  carrying  on  a 
remunerative  trade  with  Bolivia  and  Peru.     The  Jesuits'  views, 
plans,  and  operations  were  here  untrammeled  and  unchecked. 
Santa  Cruz  was  too  distant  and  too  weak  to  hold  over  them  the 
rule  so  often  exercised  by  Asuncion  elsewhere,  and  thus  their  sys- 
tem was  probably  brought  to  whatever  perfection  the  age  and 
country  would  admit  of     One  thing  we  know,  that  since  the  de- 
parture of  the  fathers  the  Chiquitos  have  been  gradually  receding 
to  their  original  rude  haunts.     It  may  be  well  to  note  the  various 
divisions  and  ofl&ces  of  employment  throwing  light  upon  their 
condition. 

As  in  the  Parana  reductions,  there  were  attached  to  each  Chi- 
quitos mission  two  fathers,  the  one  charged  with  the  spiritual,  the 
other  with  its  temporal  affairs.  The  correjidor  was  the  native 
chief,  but  exercised  no  authority  of  his  own.     He  was  the  mere 

*  D'Orbigny,  vol.  iii.,  p.  40:  Fernandez.  Fernandez  wrote  a  history  of  the  Chi- 
quitos Missions  up  to  1723.     His  work  was  published  in  1726. 


NATIVE  OFFICIALS.  515 

executor  of  his  superior's  orders,  assisted  bj  a  ieniente,  alferes,  and 
alcaldes,  all  subordinate  military  officers.  Added  to  these,  a  chief- 
justice  and  a  sergeant-major  formed  what  was  termed  the  "ca- 
bildo,"  or  tribunal — the  Jesuit's  privy  council.  Every  morning 
these  members  of  the  cabildo,  bearing  a  cane  headed  by  a  silver 
apple  as  emblematic  of  their  position,  waited  upon  the  fathers  to 
receive  their  daily  instructions.*  Though  the  missionary's  power 
and  will  were  arbitrary,  he  was  cautious  to  call  this  tribunal  for 
the  consideration  of  all  matters  of  importance,  and  aided  by  their 
advice  to  adapt  himself  and  his  measures  to  the  wants  and  wishes 
of  the  people.  There  was  no  clashing  of  opinion  or  purpose.  If 
the  fathers  found  themselves  in  the  wrong  they  gradually,  imper- 
ceptibly yielded  their  ground.  In  all  private  occupations,  in  ev- 
ery art  and  trade,  there  was  adopted  a  similar  system  of  order  and 
control.  To  every  branch  of  manual  labor  or  mental  training,  to 
every  parcialidad  or  division,  there  was  a  master — a  capitan,  as  he 
was  called. 

.  We  have  already  seen  that  the  Indians  were  led  out  in  military 
procession  to  work  in  the  fields.  The  overseers  or  captains  were 
styled  Jiscales.  The  ofl&ce  of  cruceros  was  an  important  one,  gen- 
erally filled  by  men  of  supposed  experience,  who  were  known  and 
recognized  by  their  wearing  a  black  cross.f  They  were  the  phy- 
sicians, the  medical  stewards,  and  nurses,  and  were  also  charged 
to  give  notice  of  births  and  deaths,  to  prepare  for  marriages  and 
confessions.:}: 

The  Mayor  domo  de  Colegio  was  a  kind  of  commissary  general. 
He  was  intrusted  with  the  granaries,  the  stores,  and  provisions  of 
the  mission,  and  distributed  the  weekly  allowances. 

The  Capitan  de  Carpinteria  was  literally  the  captain  of  carpen- 
try, the  constructor  general,  "commissioner  of  public  buildings." 
He  had  in  charge  not  only  the  erection  of  churches  and  other 
public  edifices,  but  the  construction  of  every  house  in  the  town, 
the  manufacture  of  farniture  and  other  wood- work.  Great  skill 
was  attained  in  this  art^  giving  rise  to  a  considerable  commerce 
with  Santa  Cruz  and  other  Spanish  cities.     The  Chiquitos  Indians 

*  D'Orbigny,  vol.  iii.,  p.  44. 

t  A  party  of  Spaniards  once  ascending  the  Paraguay  noticed  that  a  huge  cross 
had  been  erected  in  a  small  Indian  village  situated  on  the  river,  and  having  in- 
quired into  the  cause  of  it  were  told  that  the  natives  had  heard  from  the  fathers  so 
much  of  the  protecting  influence  of  the  cross  that  they  had  hoped  it  would  keep 
off  the  jaguars  infesting  the  neighborhood. — Chaklevoix. 

X  D'Orbigny,  vol.  iii.,  p.  44. 


516  COMMUNITY  OF  LABOR. 

also  excelled  in  turning.  The  turners  liad  their  Capitan  de  Ro- 
sarios,  and  their  manufactures  were  sold  at  considerable  cost 
throughout  Peru.* 

The  Capitan  de  Herreros  was  the  captain  of  the  blacksmiths. 
He  was  master  of  the  iron-works,  provided  iron  for  building 
purposes,  working  implements,  and  every  description  of  utensil. 
Hatchets,  locks,  and  the  like  were  not  unfrequently  exported. 

Another  important  of&ce  was  that  of  the  Capitan  de  Teyederos^ 
or  captain  of  the  weavers.  The  Jesuits  grew  cotton  extensively, 
and  manufactured  it  not  only  for  their  own  domestic  purposes, 
but  exported  yearly  a  large  quantity  of  hammocks,  table-cloths, 
ponchos,  and  similar  articles. 

The  wax  department  had  likewise  a  director.  The  mule-driv- 
ers, or  transporters,  and  shoemakers  were  headed  respectively  by 
a  captain.  The  Capitan  de  Plateros  had  charge  of  the  sacred 
vases,  candelabras,  and  all  decorations  of  the  church.  He  direct- 
ed the  manufacture  of  the  crosses  and  apple-headed  canes  already 
mentioned,  and  was  chief  of  all  the  gold,  silver,  and  copper  smiths. 
Another  ofiice  belonging  to  the  church  was  that  of  the  Maestro  de 
Capilla,  the  master  of  the  chapel.  He  had  charge  of  the  church- 
choirs,  taught  music,  singing,  and  dancing,  instructed  also  in  read- 
ing, writing,  and  deciphering  music,  and  had  mainly  under  his 
care  the  schools  of  the  mission. 

These  are  some  of  the  offices  established  by  the  Jesuit  fathers 
to  which  we  are  led  to  refer  as  proof  of  the  advanced  civilization 
they  had  been  enabled  here  to  introduce,  and  as  affording  an  illus- 
tration of  the  workings  of  their  system.  In  fifty  years  from  the 
arrival  of  the  sons  of  Loyola  the  scattered  squads  of  Chiquitos 
and  other  neighboring  Indians  had  been  formed  into  one  and  a 
marked  people,  adopting  a  Christian  mode  of  life  and  worshiping 
in  churches  that  rivaled  the  finest  in  Spanish  America,  indeed 
often  surpassing  them  in  the  costliness  of  their  decorations.  Writ- 
ers do  not  hesitate  to  place  these  Indian  towns  in  advance  of  the 
Spanish.f  Their  manufactures  were  finer  and  better,  the  produce 
of  their  lands  superior  and  more  abundant.  The  circulation  of 
money  was  dispensed  with,  as  the  Indians  worked  for  the  com- 
munity and  had  in  turn  every  want  supplied.  Dii  laborihus  om- 
nia vendunt.  Their  treasury  was  annually  filled,  we  read,  with  a 
surplus  of  $60,000,  all  of  which  was  lavished  upon  the  churches, 
the  public  buildings,  and  necessary  mission  improvements. 

*  D'Orbiguy,  vol.  iii.,  p.  45.  t  Id.,  Viedma,  etc. 


THE  CHIQUITOS  LANGUAGE.  517 

Painting  and  sculpture  were  not  neglected.  Marble  statues  by 
Eoman  sculptors  found  their  way  to  the  Chiquitos  missions,*  and 
paintings  of  merit  adorned  the  walls  of  the  churches.  The  In- 
dians themselves  were  highly  skilled  in  the  art  of  wood  sculpture, 
which  chiefly  supplied  the  place  of  stone. 

"We  can  well  wonder  at  this  rapid  change  in  the  tide  of  the 
Chiquitos'  existence,  and  the  future  development  of  his  capabil- 
ities subjected  to  this  religious  government ;  and  we  become  deep- 
ly impressed  in  favor  of  the  latter,  whatever  Spanish  writers  may 
regard  as  its  ultimate  tendency  and  aim.  One  of  the  many  tri- 
umphs of  the  Jesuit  in  this  province  should  be  especially  record- 
ed— a  work  worthy  of  his  highest  efforts,  I  refer  to  the  language 
of  the  country.  A  knowledge  of  the  language  spoken  by  the 
tribe  among  whom  the  missionary  proposes  to  establish  himself  is 
certainly  an  essential  acquirement.  The  Jesuits  were  thorough 
linguists  and  understood  many  Indian  dialects,  but  the  most 
famed  polyglot  among  them  might  have  stood  aj)palled  at  the 
unmeaning  sounds  that  grated  upon  his  ear  on  entering  the  terri- 
tory of  Chiquitos.  Up  to  the  latter  part  of  the  seventeenth  cen- 
tury thirteen  languages  as  distinct  as  English  and  French  were 
there  spoken — so  trifling  was  the  intercourse  between  the  respect- 
ive tribes.  The  Chiquitos  tongue,  however,  was  happily  the  most 
universal ;  the  other  twelve  were  each  embraced  in  a  compara- 
tively narrow  compass.  To  acquire  all  these  bordered  on  an  im- 
possibility. They  must  be  moulded  into  one ;  there  must  be  one 
language  for  the  whole  Indian  race  to  be  settled  into  these  west- 
ern missions.  This  was  the  project  the  fathers  had  conceived, 
and  they  adopted  every  means  for  its  execution.  Chiquitos  In- 
dians and  instructors  were  largely  disseminated  among  their  neigh- 
bors. They  taught  in  their  schools  and  conversed  in  none  but 
the  Chiquitos  language.  Prayers  were  said  in  that  tongue,  and 
in  it  also  all  business  was  transacted.  Gradually,  with  time,  these 
efforts  became  successful.  Every  year  added  new  affinities  to  the 
varied  patois.  They  are  at  present  one  and  the  same  Chiquitos 
language,  and  it  is  a  living  monument  to  the  labors  of  the  Jesuit, 
rising  above  the  meaner  things  writers  would  attribute  to  his 
ambition  and  self-interest. 

Yet  all  the  wealth  and  splendor  of  Chiquitos  were  rivaled  in 
the  more  northern  and  marshy  province  of  Moxos,  notwithstand- 
ing its  sickly  atmosphere  and  continuous  subjection  to  riverine 

*  Vide  D'Orbigny,  Chiquitos,  vol.  iii. 


518  MOXOS  MISSIONS. 

inundations.  Moxos  was  under  the  more  direct  supervision  of 
tlie  Audience  of  Cliarcas.  That  body  made  several  unsuccessful 
attempts,  toward  the  middle  of  the  seventeenth  century,  to  civil- 
ize its  inhospitable  haunts.  It  was  not  until  the  year  1686  that 
the  foundations  of  a  mission  were  here  laid,  called  Loreto — the 
name  given,  it  will  be  remembered,  to  the  most  early  of  all  these 
missionary  settlements,  the  ill-fated  town  that  fell  into  the  merci- 
less hands  of  the  Paulistas.  This  triumph  was  followed  up  by  a 
succession  of  similar  acquisitions.  Trinidad  was  standing  in  1687, 
San  Ignacio  in  4689,  San  Xavier  in  1690,  San  Jose  in  1691,  San 
Borjia  in  1693,  six  reductions  containing,  according  to  Father 
Equiluz,  the  historian  of  the  Moxos  missions,  nearly  20,000  in- 
habitants. Toward  the  period  of  the  Jesuit  expulsion  eight  oth- 
ers* were  added  to  this  number.  San  Pedro  was  regarded  as  the 
capital  city,  although  in  1691  the  population  of  Loreto  was  in- 
creased to  4000  souls. 

These  Moxos  missions  were  but  a  repetition  of  those  of  Chiqui- 
tos.  Both  had  their  parcialidads  and  capiians,  similar  in  every 
respect.  The  Chiquitos  reductions,  though  founded  at  a  later 
period  generally  than  the  Moxos,  seem  to  have  served  as  a  model 
for  the  latter,  who,  observing  the  excellence  of  their  wood  and 
iron  work,  did  not  hesitate  to  derive  every  advantage  from  se- 
curing Chiquitos  workmen  and  imitating  Chiquitos  art.  Cattle 
were  brought  from  Santa  Cruz,  tradesmen  from  Peru  and  Chiqui- 
tos. Moxos  had  its  cotton  factories,  its  iron-works,  and  soon  ex- 
celled in  various  kinds  of  domestic  manufacture.  Its  towns  aver- 
aged three  thousand  souls,  with  churches  unsurpassed  on  this  con- 
tinent for  their  vast  proportions  and  lavish  expenditure  in  deco- 
rations and  votaries.  The  church  of  San  Pedro  alone  contained 
two  thousand  pounds  of  massive  silver,  and  valuable  works  of 
art.f 

There  was  this  difference  between  these  two  converted  tribes, 
that  among  the  Moxos  Indians  there  existed  a  social  distinction 
peculiarly  defined.  This,  as  we  have  seen,  was  studiously  avoid- 
ed in  all  the  previous  missionary  establishments  which  have  come 
under  our  observation.  There  must  be  no  rule  but  that  of  the 
missionary,  and,  to  render  it  the  more  absolute,  there  must  be  no 

*  San  Pedro,  Santa  Anna,  Exaltacion,  Magdalena,  Concepcion  de  Baures,  San 
Simon,  Joaquim,  and  San  Martin. 

t  D'Orbigny,  vol.  iii.,  p.  233.  In  this  sum  are  not  contained  the  offerings  to 
the  Virgin. 


THE  ABIPONES.  519 

improved  rank  or  grade  among  the  natives.  This  perfect  equal- 
ity was  a  fundamental  principle  in  both  the  Guayra  and  Parana 
missions,  and  hence  they  were  called  Christian  republics.  Along 
the  Marmore  and  San  Miguel,  however,  we  find  an  aristocracy 
and  a  commons  as  distinct  as  old  Egyptian  castes.  The  former 
were  called  Las  Familias^  the  latter,  very  expressively.  El  Pueblo. 
The  families  were  the  capitans  and  higher  order  of  artisans,  the 
people  composed  the  soldiery  and  lower  class  of  laborers.  The 
superiority  of  the  one  was  duly  recognized  over  that  of  the  other, 
nor  did  the  Jesuits  seek  to  remove  the  line  thus  drawn  between 
the  two  classes  of  people.  They  were  all  religious  enthusiasts, 
submitting  themselves  cheerfully  to  self-torture  and  persecution 
if  chancing  in  any  way  to  offend  the  Deity.* 

Such  was  the  Jesuit  empire  in  part  toward  the  period  of  its 
fall.  Now  expanding  with  the  march  of  civilization,  now  a  bea- 
con to  this,  it  had  known  no  decline.  With  a  hundred  arms  it 
swayed  the  native  population  of  Santiago,  Tucimian,  the  Parana, 
the  Uruguay,  and  Paraguay.  Thence  ascending  the  Paraguay 
River,  or  skirting  along  the  last  slopes  of  the  Andes,  we  have 
seen  Chiquitos  and  Moxos  yielding  with  superstitious  reverence 
to  its  rule.  We  have  traversed  almost  the  whole  basin  of  La 
Plata,  we  have  stej)ped  beyond  it,  failing  to  discover  any  termi- 
nus to  this  rehgious  government.  In  the  whole  extent  of  this 
portion  of  the  continent  there  was  scarcely  a  tribe  that  had  not  at 
some  period  yielded  to  its  genial  influence,  though  not  unfre- 
quently  this  success  proved  a  mere  temporary  check  of  barbarous 
habits  and  customs,  to  fall  back  with  merciless  penalty  upon  the 
authors  of  the  good  work.  No  tribe  had  been  found  more  diffi- 
cult of  persuasion  than  the  Abipones. 

This  race  covered  that  portion  of  the  Gran  Chaco  which  lies 
south  of  the  Vermejo.  They  were  among  the  most  warlike  and 
ferocious  Indians  of  the  southern  continent,  exhibiting  none  of  the 
sedentary  habits  and  docile  manner  of  life  which  so  fitted  the  Gua- 
rani  for  Jesuit  rule — a  bold,  equestrian  people,  roving  and  wander- 
ing from  place  to  place,  and,  like  the  Getulians,  making  that  spot 
their  home  where  the  night  chanced  to  find  them.  Fond  of  war, 
endlessly  engaged  in  strife  with  their  neighbors,  and  practiced  in 
the  destructive  use  of  their  native  weapons,  they  had  preferred, 
we  are  told,  the  enmity  of  the  Spaniards  to  their  friendship ;  they 
would  rather  excite  their  fears  than  their  love — a  sanguinary  pref- 

*  D'Oibigny,  vol.  iii.,  p.  230. 


520  FATHER  PASTOR. 

erence  which  they  had  every  opportunity  of  gratifying.  The  name 
of  Abipone  became  one  of  terror.  Their  plunderings,  massacres, 
and  devastations  have  been  recorded  by  a  missionary  who  lived 
long  among  them.*  The  people  of  Santa  Fe  considered  at  one 
time  the  proposition  of  abandoning  their  city,  so  completely  was 
it  at  the  mercy  of  these  besiegers.  Not  until  a  peace  concluded 
in  1747  were  Corrientes  and  the  neighboring  missions  freed  from 
the  same  relentless  pursuers.  In  the  course  of  time  every  Indian 
town  and  hamlet  was  swept  from  the  country  watered  by  the  Sa- 
lado,  and  the  panic  more  than  once  spread  to  Santiago  and  Cor- 
dova. Missionaries,  since  the  days  of  St.  Francis  Solano,  had  suc- 
ceeded in  appeasing  none  of  this  revengeful,  bloody,  inhuman 
spirit.  Fears  and  anxieties  were  as  much  alive  and  as  keenly  felt 
as  they  had  been  for  ages  back. 

With  the  name  of  Solano  are  associated  those  of  Barzana  and 
Anasco.f  But  their  endeavors,  whatever  they  may  have  been, 
gave  rise  to  few  practical  results.  The  Spanish  population  in  the 
country  was  not  sufficient  to  daunt  so  vigorous  and  unyielding  a 
tribe  as  the  Abipones.  At  a  much  later  period  these  efforts  were 
renewed  by  Fathers  Pastor  and  Cerqueira.  Pastor  advanced  a 
great  distance  into  the  heart  of  the  Abiponian  territory.  For  this 
perilous  mission  he  had  yielded  up  the  mastership  of  the  college 
of  Santiago,  probably  feeling  himself  fitted  for  its  difiiculties  from 
his  indomitable  energy  and  large  experience  among  the  native 
tribes.  From  Matara,  on  the  Salado,  he  passed  into  the  Chaco, 
and,  before  completing  his  journey,  found  himself  close  to  the  wa- 
ters of  the  Yermejo.  Meeting  here  a  band  of  two  hundred  men, 
he  addressed  them  in  the  Tonocote  language,  and  succeeded  in 
gaining  their  good  wishes. 

Caliguila  was  the  name  of  the  chief  here  encountered.  He  in- 
vited the  missionary  to  instruct  his  people.  He  further  showed 
his  complete  confidence  in  Pastor  by  extending  to  him  the  hberty 
of  erecting  a  church.  But,  true  to  his  warlike  instincts,  he  enter- 
ed a  provision  that  the  young  men  should  not  be  detained  at  long 
prayers  and  tedious  ceremonies,  lest  inactivity  and  sedentary  hab- 
its should  damp  their  martial  ardor  and  lessen  their  dexterity  in  the 
use  of  arms  ;:j:  and,  moreover,  that  they  should  be  allowed  to  carry 
their  bows  and  arrows  during  the  service  of  the  Church.  These 
were  Caliguila's  only  conditions.  Pastor  erected  a  huge  cross, 
as  his  first  step,  and  dedicated  the  land  to  Christ.     One  by  one  he 

*  Dobrizhoffer,  vol.  iii.         f  Id.,  vol.  iii.,  p.  103.  J  Id.,  vol.  iii.,  p.  109. 


PASTOR'S  LABORS.  521 

led  the  Indians  before  the  crucifix,  and  there  made  them  kneel. 
He  explained  and  expounded,  with  unceasing  enthusiasm ;  party 
after  party,  passing  that  way,  joined  his  congregation.  Solano's 
spirit  seemed  to  have  descended  upon  him.  To  calm  Abiponian 
fury  and  in  any  wise  subject  it,  was  regarded  as  something  super- 
human. This  Pastor  did ;  and,  as  an  evidence  of  his  extreme 
good  fortune,  he  found  the  quiet  and  leisure  for  arranging  a  vo- 
cabulary of  the  native  language.  But,  a  century  ago,  the  memory 
of  it  alone  survived.*  He  excited  the  reverence,  and,  to  a  certain 
extent,  the  love  of  this  newly -baptized  people,  though  he  some- 
what failed  to  inspire  the  necessary  fears  of  a  dread  evil  spirit. 
He,  upon  one  occasion,  as  related  by  Dobrizhoffer,  desired  to  bap- 
tize an  old  female  conjurer,  who  was  about  passing  to  another 
world.  She  resolutely  declined  to  submit.  The  father  pictured  to 
her  eternal  joys  on  the  one  hand  and  eternal  torments  on  the  other. 
He  threatened  her  with  the  evil  spirit  and  strove  to  bring  to  her 
comprehension  that  her  soul  would  perish  unless  she  reformed 
before  passing  from  time  to  eternity.  He  was  but  httle  heeded. 
Laughing  at  his  earnestness  she  replied  that  she  had  too  long  held 
connection  with  the  demon  to  think  of  fearing  him  now  ;  and  so 
she  died. 

Pastor,  like  St.  Francis  Solano,  was  prematurely  recalled,  though 
his  ultimate  aim  was  to  return  with  a  number  of  fathers  for  the 
purpose  of  missionizing  the  territory  of  the  Abipones.  According 
to  Father  Sigano,  he  was  sent  to  treat  at  Madrid  and  Rome  in  be- 
half of  his  province.  When  about  to  sail  with  the  desired  number 
of  Jesuits,  assembled  from  all  parts  of  Europe,  he  was  informed 
that  no  foreign  missionaries  could  enter  Paraguay  or  the  Plata 
country,  which  makes  the  worthy  father  disappear.  This  prohi- 
bition was  revoked  at  a  later  period ;  the  reason  of  its  origin  can 
be  readily  conceived.  Fears  of  Jesuit  independence  were  not 
much  regarded  so  long  as  Spanish  missionaries  governed  the  re- 
ductions. But  once  intrusted  to  men  from  all  quarters  of  the 
globe,  the  Spanish  monarch  was  alarmed  that  they  might  at  some 
time  refuse  allegiance  to  his  crown,  and  acknowledge  that  author- 
ity to  which  their  local  inclinations  might  lead  them,  or  acknowl- 
edge none  at  all. 

A  considerable  space  of  time  elapsed  before  any  advantage  was 
taken  of  Pastor's  successfal  efforts  in  converting  the  Abipones. 
Old  feuds  were  revived.     A  fearless  attack  upon  some  Spanish 

*  Dobrizhoffer,  vol.  iii.,  p.  110. 


522  CHRISTOPHER  ALMARAZ. 

city  was  followed  up  bj  an  active  pursuit  of  the  offenders.  There 
seemed  to  be  no  preventive  to  the  constant  collision  of  the  two 
races.  Upon  one  occasion  a  Spanish  boy — Christopher  Almaraz 
— was  taken  captive  by  the  natives  and  carried  into  the  interior 
of  the  country.  Almaraz  lived  to  be  the  founder  of  a  mission. 
He  grew  up  among  the  savage  Abipones  and  became  a  savage 
himself  in  all  their  ways  of  life.  The  very  fact  of  his  origin 
seemed  to  have  rendered  him  the  most  hostile  of  his  tribe  toward 
the  white  race.  In  many  a  plundering  expedition  and  cold- 
blooded massacre  he  was  the  foremost.  He  "  was  an  Abipone  in 
the  eyes  of  the  Abipones  themselves."*  He  became  wedded  to 
an  Indian  woman.  In  an  unsuccessfal  defense  against  a  strong 
Spanish  force  this  woman  was  taken  prisoner  and  conducted  to 
Santiago.  Almaraz's  affections  were  strong ;  he  sought  to  recov- 
er his  wife.  Shut  up  in  that  distant  city  he  saw  no  hope  of  effect- 
ing his  object  except  by  some  peaceful  means.  He  bethought 
himself  of  founding  a  colony,  that  the  many  captives  who  had 
been  taken  from  them  might  be  returned  to  their  homes.  For 
this  purpose  he  addressed  himself  to  his  cacique,  Alaykin,  and  the 
project  met  with  his  approbation.  Almaraz  offered  himself  as 
negotiator  in  the  matter.  He  reached  Santiago  in  safety  and  his 
petition  was  granted.  The  captured  wife  was  returned  and  Con- 
cepcion  was  built.  Azara  situates  it  upon  a  lake  two  hundred 
miles  from  the  Parana  and  about  midway  between  the  Vermejo 
and  Salado.  Azara  is  good  authority  for  all  the  Paraguay  coun- 
try, but  Dobrizhoffer  only  can  be  here  relied  upon.  He  says  it 
was  nine  leagues  from  the  Parana,  sixty  from  Santa  Fe,  and  one 
hundred  and  seventy  from  Santiago.  This  position  is  easily  de- 
termined. Dobrizhoffer  was  at  one  time  appointed  to  this  mis- 
sion, and  states  all  the  vicissitudes  to  which  it  was  subjected. 
Though  Alaykin's  authority  was  supreme,  he  proved  false  to  his 
promises  and  Jesuit  interests  by  abandoning  the  reduction  and 
carrying  off  most  of  the  cattle.  Its  present  locality  was  to  be  de- 
sired in  every  respect  for  its  natural  advantages,  but  the  unfortu- 
nate hostility  and  insubordination  of  the  Indians  compelled  a 
change.  After  a  perilous  journey  to  Santiago  and  back,  Dobriz- 
hoffer removed  the  mission  to  the  Salado,  but  a  want  of  fresh  wa- 
ter drove  them  from  place  to  place  until  their  final  settlement  on 
the  Eio  Dulce. 

There  are  three  other  important  missions  to  be  noted,  St.  Je- 

*  Dobrizhoffer,  vol.  iii.,  p.  213. 


MISSION  OF  THE  ROSAKY.  '  52,3 

ronymo,  St.  Ferdinando,  and  the  Eosary.  Father  Hobezozo  found- 
ed the  first  of  these.  Dobrizhoffer  places  it  on  the  northern  bank 
of  the  Kio  Rey,  ten  leagues  from  Concepcion.  St.  Ferdinando 
was  established  under  the  auspices  of  the  Governor  of  Corrientes, 
and  situated  across  the  river,  opposite  to  that  city.  The  founda- 
tion of  the  Rosary  took  place  in  1763.  Dobrizhoffer,  who  was  its 
founder,  has  given  its  history  minutely.  He  had  no  exalted  ap- 
preciation of  his  mission.  He  compares  its  inhabitants  to  the 
generation  of  one  thing  from  the  corruption  of  another,  to  the 
creation  of  "insects  from  putrid  substances,  because  they  were 
already  the  outcasts  of  the  Church  and  other  ruined  reductions." 
He  next  finds  fault  with  the  name,  and,  with  a  poor  jest,  calls  it 
"  the  most  thorny  of  all  the  colonies."  The  advent  of  the  Rosary 
among  the  sisterhood  of  missions  was  attended  with  more  than 
usual  military  effect.  The  known  warlike  habits  of  the  Abipones 
rendered  this  necessary.  Four  hundred  soldiers  accompanied  the 
governor  and  Dobrizhoffer  in  descending  the  river  from  Corrien- 
tes. With  extreme  caution  they  landed  every  night  on  the  left 
bank  of  the  river,  until  their  final  arrival  at  the  proposed  site  of 
the  new  mission.  The  governor  was  a  brave  man,  but  had  learned 
to  live  in  no  little  fear  of  an  Abipone.  The  most  vigilant  watches 
day  and  night,  a  strong  guard  in  continual  attendance  upon  his 
person,  four  pieces  of  cannon  planted  at  the  entrance  to  his  house, 
and  "  forty  large  muskets"  within,  could  not  calm  his  unstrung 
nerves  in  the  face  of  this  Indian  tribe  about  to  embrace  the  Chris- 
tian religion.  If  we  can  trust  our  author,  who  jokes  at  all  his 
movements,  he  took  every  fly  for  an  enemy.  At  last  a  most  pre- 
cipitous and  unlooked-for  decampment  of  the  whole  force  left 
Dobrizhoffer  alone  in  his  glory.  Some  friendly  Indians  rushed 
to  the  banks  to  wish  the  party  farewell,  but  the  rapid  execution 
of  the  governor's  orders  did  not  permit  of  this  pleasure. 

On  the  other  hand  Dobrizhoffer's  equanimity  was  not  for  once 
disturbed.  With  cross  in  hand,  freely  and  undisturbed  he  made 
his  way  among  the  Indians,  counseled  and  commanded,  and  some- 
times acted  as  mediator.  Left  alone  in  the  power  of  the  Abi- 
pones, entirely  isolated  from  the  other  missions,  badly  armed 
against  the  desperate  tribes  that  infested  the  neighborhood,  with 
the  smoke  of  their  fires  curling  in  sight,  it  required  no  small 
amount  of  fortitude  to  remain  at  his  dangerous  post.  "  Yet,"  says 
he,  "  depending  on  the  protection  of  the  Almighty  alone,  I  never 
felt  myself  more  secure." 


524  DOBRIZHOFFER. 

While  relating  this  Christian  resignation  to  the  perils  of  his  sit- 
uation, Dobrizhoffer  does  not  omit  to  strongly  depict  its  disadvan- 
tages and  its  miseries.  According  to  his  account,  never  was  such 
mean  provision  made  for  the  establishment  of  a  mission ;  and 
the  little  he  did  possess  was  either  scattered  or  stolen.  The  en- 
mity of  neighboring  Indians  did  not  permit  of  the  enjoyment  of 
the  least  quiet  to  the  Eosary.  Macobios  and  Tobas  made  sudden 
and  frequent  descents  upon  the  defenseless  village  to  plunder  it 
of  horses  and  cattle,  if  not  to  massacre  the  inhabitants.  Sleep- 
less nights  and  harassing  cares  preyed  upon  the  disconsolate  fa- 
ther, whom  long  experience  alone  among  the  savages  could  have 
nerved  to  such  endurance.  A  successful  expedition  of  Spanish 
horsemen  against  the  Tobas  Indians  brought  upon  his  reduc- 
tion the  final  revenge  of  the  latter.  In  due  time  six  hundred 
mounted  Tobas  surrounded  the  mission ;  but,  after  a  doubtful 
struggle,  they  retreated  with  whatever  booty  had  chanced  to  faU 
into  their  possession.  Dobrizhoffer,  upon  this  occasion,  was  se- 
verely wounded  by  an  arrow.  The  discharge  of  his  arms  had 
thrown  the  enemy  into  a  panic,  without  waiting  to  experience  to 
any  degree  their  deadly  effect.  The  father  faithfully  fulfilled  his 
many  and  arduous  duties;  long  years  had  he  devoted  to  this 
little-remunerative  cause,  and  there  was  no  sacrifice  to  which  he 
had  not  cheerfully  submitted.  He  was  a  type  of  the  stern  and 
unflinching  qualities  of  the  Jesuit  missionary.  At  the  same  time 
he  was  no  stranger  to  learning  or  literature  and  the  amenities  of 
life,  notwithstanding  eighteen  years'  stay  among  the  Abipones. 
On  his  return  to  Vienna  the  Empress  Queen  Maria  Theresa  often 
engaged  his  company  in  "  discourse  both  pleasurable  and  sage." 
And  here  it  was  that 

"  He  the  years  of  his  old  age  employed, 
A  faithful  chronicler,  in  handing  down 
Names  which  he  loved  and  things  well  worthy  to  be  known." 

Southey  has  still  farther  thus  preserved  his  name : 

"  He  was  a  man  of  rarest  qualities, 
Who  to  this  barbarous  age  had  confined 
A  spirit  with  the  learned  and  the  wise 
Worthy  to  take  its  place,  and  from  mankind 
Receive  their  homage,  to  the  immortal  mind 
Paid  in  its  just  inheritance  of  fame  : 
But  he  to  humbler  thoughts  his  heart  inclined. 
From  Gratz,  amid  the  Styrian  hills,  he  came, 
And  Dobrizhoffer  was  the  good  man's  name." 


\ 


MISSIONS  IN  PATAGONIA.  525 

A  remote  region  still  remained  open  to  Jesuit  enterprise  and 
adventure.  The  discoverers  of  many  an  unknown  land,  from  Af- 
rica to  China,  and  from  China  to  Peru  and  Paraguay,  the  fathers 
were  planning  anew,  in  the  middle  of  the  last  century,  an  expedi- 
tion destined  to  extend  into  the  desert  promontory  of  Patagonia. 
The  Spanish  government  l)eing  at  the  same  time  anxious  to  ex- 
plore its  coast,  a  joint  party  left  Buenos  Ay  res  in  1745,  during 
the  reign  of  Philip  V.  The  Jesuits  attending  the  expedition  were 
Fathers  Quiraga,  Cardiel,  and  Strobl.  The  Straits  of  Magellan 
were  reached  by  them.  They  probably  made  a  faithful  survey 
of  the  coast,  its  harbors  and  advantages ;  but  on  returning  bronght 
reports  of  a  cold,  bleak,  barren,  and  unpopulated  country.  The 
three  missionaries  landed  upon  several  occasions  and  undertook 
journeys  into  the  interior,  but  scarcely  met  with  a  sign  of  life  or 
living  creature.  This  failure  had  only  the  effect  of  awakening 
new  energies  in  the  Patagonian  cause. 

The  town  of  Concepcion  had  already  been  built,  and  its  prospects 
satisfied  every  expectation.  It  was  situated  among  the  Pampas 
Indians,  who  cover  that  extensive  region  to  the  south  of  Buenos 
Ayres,  and  served  as  a  midway  point  and  barrier  for  the  city 
against  the  hordes  that  infested  that  district  of  country.  Father 
Strobl,  an  Austrian,  and  Querini,  a  Venetian  of  noble  family, 
were  chosen  to  take  it  in  charge.  By  gentle  rule  and  indulgent 
treatment  they  gained  over  to  their  spiritual  government  many  of 
the  Patagonian  Indians  who  came  to  visit  the  settlement.  Dis- 
covering the  peculiar  benefits  that  might  arise  from  an  establish- 
ment of  this  character  in  their  own  midst,  they  did  not  hesitate  to 
make  expressions  of  a  desire  that  the  fathers  should  visit  their 
country  and  there  build  towns.  This  proposition  was  embraced 
with  avidity.  Fathers  Falconer  and  Cardiel  undertook  m  1746  to 
satisfy  the  spiritual  cravings  of  the  suj^posed  giant  Patagonians.* 
Traveling  some  distance  southwest,  they  first  "  felt  the  pulse  of 
the  people,"  according  to  Dobrizhoflfer.  Settling  in  a  favorable 
location  they  founded  a  mission,  to  which  was  given  the  name  of 
Nuestra  Senora  del  Pilar.  Shortly  afterward  the  erection  of  an- 
other took  place  in  the  same  neighborhood.  It  was  called  Nuest'ra 
Senora  de  los  Desamparados,  but  why  its  inhabitants  were  termed 
deserters  it  is  not  easy  to  conceive.  And,  in  addition  to  these, 
many  others  would  have  followed  in  quick  succession,  until  they 
overlooked  the  Straits  of  Magellan,  had  not  a  certain  cacique  come 

*  DobrizhofFer  did  not  find  them  of  remarkable  stature. 


526  MISSIONS  ABANDONED. 

finally  to  tlie  reasonable  conclusion  that  his  territory  and  his  power 
were  being  alike  too  rapidly  encroached  upon.  Cangapol  was  the 
great  cacique.  He  planned  a  dark  conspiracy  against  the  few  and 
defenseless  missions  that  lay  wathin  his  reach.  Gathering  around 
him  all  his  warriors  and  such  as  were  willing  to  follow  him  to 
battle,  he  led  them  to  a  murderous  assault  of  the  Eeduction  de 
los  Desamparados.  Emboldened  by  unlooked-for  success  in  this 
quarter,  he  pushed  on  to  the  next  mission  and  compelled  it  to 
share  a  similar  fate.  Though  all  his  preparations  and  movements 
had  been  anticipated  by  Father  Strobl — who  made  the  most  earnest 
entreaties  to  Buenos  Ayres  for  mihtary  succor,  yet  only  to  suffer 
a  sad  disappointment  in  the  reception  of  any  such — his  advance 
upon  Concepcion  was  not  in  the  least  impeded.  And  so,  ravag- 
ing the  country,  he  approached  this  flourishing  mission.  The  fa- 
thers were  without  difficulty  driven  from  this  their  last  retreat, 
and  Cangapol  resumed  his  sway.  The  abandonment  of  Concep- 
cion in  1753  was  not  long  in  being  followed  up  by  the  total  ex- 
pulsion of  the  Jesuit  order  from  Spanish  and  Portuguese  territories. 


CHAPTER  XXX. 


Stability  of  the  Christian  Church. — Contest  for  the  Governorship  of  Asuacion. — 
Antequera. — Expulsion  of  the  Jesuits. — Defeat  of  Don  Balthazar  Garcia  Rosas. — 
Zavala. — Flight  of  Antequera,  his  Arrest  and  Execution. — Appointment  of  Don 
John  de  Barua. — Return  of  the  Jesuits. — Rebellion  in  Paraguay. — Communeros 
and  Contrabandos. — APresident. — Another  Expulsion  of  the  Jesuits. — Don  Man- 
uel de  Ruiloba,  Governor  of  Asuncion. — A  Defender. — Zavala  enters  Asuncion. 
— Contest  at  the  Court  of  Madrid. — Triumph  of  the  Jesuits. — Their  exclusive 
Policy. — Suspicions  revived. — The  Contest  renewed. — Sebastian  Carvalho,  Mar- 
quis of  Pombal. — The  boundary  Line. — Attempt  to  assassinate  King  Joseph. — 
Expulsion  of  the  Order  from  Portugal  and  France. — Squillaci. — Charles  III. — 
Aranda. — The  Jesuits  driven  from  Spain. — A  Cruise  at  Sea. — Final  Landing  at 
Corsica. — Letter  of  the  Pope. — Bucareli. — Viceroy  of  Buenos  Ayres,  his  Mes- 
sengers and  Dispatches. — Plans  thwarted. — Sudden  Arrest  of  the  Fathers. — 
Destruction  of  the  Cordova  Library. — Memorial  of  the  Indians  in  behalf  of  the 
Order. — Alarms  of  the  Viceroy. — Expedition  against  the  Parana  and  Uruguay 
Reductions. — The  Fathers  shipped  for  Europe. — Fate  of  the  Missions. 

We  left  the  Jesuits  in  favor  and  in  power  at  Asuncion,  their 
missions  along  the  Parana  and  Uruguay  victorious  at  last  in  their 
bloody  strifes  with  the  Mamelucos,  and  in  the  enjoyment  of  a 
peace  that  promised  to  be  enduring.  The  seventeenth  century 
glided  out  with  nothing  to  disturb  the  calm  of  their  existence. 


THE  JESUITS  IN  LA  PLATA.  527 

A  rigid  observance  of  each,  day's  routine  faltered  not  for  a  mo- 
ment. Fathers  passed  away  and  their  posts  were  filled  as  if 
the  vacancies  had  never  taken  place,  so  semblant  were  they  in 
life,  thought,  and  action.  No  one  Jesuit  differed  from  another. 
Nearly  the  whole  Indian  population  east  of  the  Paraguay  was 
now  included  within  the  reductions,  lay  and  Jesuitic,  and  the 
Christian  republic  had  grown  into  an  imposing  fabric.  The  ris- 
ing generation  of  Indians,  impressed  with  a  profound  sense  of 
gratitude  for  the  temporal  and  spiritual  benefits  to  which  Jesuit 
teaching  had  advanced  them,  contemplated,  without  doubt,  its 
permanency.  Time  had  perfected  that  peculiar  development  to 
which  the  missionary  desired  to  bring  the  Indian  mmd.  The 
system  was  complete  and  matured  after  passing  through  the 
ordeal  of  a  century's  trial,  and  commanded  the  admiration  as 
well  as  the  restless  attention  of  the  world.  We  meet  with  no 
serious  revulsion  until  the  year  1723  ;  it  is  then  that  old  wran- 
glings  are  renewed,  and  we  trace  them  as  usual  to  a  dispute  for 
the  governorship  or  the  exercise  of  power.  Don  Joseph  de  An- 
tequera  and  Don  Diego  de  los  Eeyes  are  the  contending  parties. 
The  Jesuits,  seemingly  unable  as  ever  to  keep  aloof  from  these 
disturbances,  are  either  forced  or  enter  voluntarily  into  the  con- 
test, so  that  they  soon  find  themselves  engaged  in  entanglements 
and  perplexities  from  which  the  experience  gained  in  the  past 
career  of  Don  Bernardin  de  Cardenas  should  have  saved  them. 
Don  Diego,  whose  cause  seems  to  have  been  just,  found  sympathy 
among  the  fathers.  Each  champion  had  his  claims,  the  merit 
thereof,  however,  effecting  little  against  him  who  could  best  wield 
his  sword  and  best  pay  his  followers.  Antequera  had  this  good 
fortune.  He  attempted,  though  unsuccessfully,  to  seize  upon  his 
opponent's  person  in  Asuncion,  and  then  pursued  him  through 
every  reduction  by  which  the  fugitive  successively  passed ;  but 
the  faithful  Indians  baffled  his  every  step.  In  return  for  the 
fruitlessness  of  this  expedition,  he  vented  his  angry  spirit  against 
the  Jesuits  of  the  city,  believing  that  he  discovered  in  them  a  very 
serious  obstacle  to  his  ambitious  designs.  "He  determined  upon 
their  expulsion  from  Asuncion ;  three  hours'  notice  was  regarded 
by  some  as  too  much  for  the  victims ;  but  the  governor,  in  his 
clemency,  insisted  on  this  point.  In  three  hours,  therefore,  the 
order  was  once  more  driven  from  the  capital,  not  with  the  violence 
applied  upon  a  former  occasion,  but  with  equal  certainty  of  their 
departure. 


528  ANTEQUERA. 

Antequera  was  a  bold  and  intractable  character.  Positive  in- 
structions from  the  viceroy  bad  been  most  unpardonablj  disre- 
garded by  bim,  and  orders  to  lay  down  bis  power  as  Governor  of 
Asuncion  met  with  sovereign  contempt.  Confidently  trusting  in 
the  support  be  found  immediately  around  bim,  be  drew  upon  him- 
self the  ultima  ratio  of  force.  Don  Balthazar  Garcia  Kosas,  ap- 
pointed by  the  Viceroy  of  Peru  to  the  duty  of  quelhng  the  rebel- 
lion in  Paraguay  and  removing  its  present  chief  magistrate,  as- 
sembled for  tjiis  purpose  a  Spanish  force  and  several  thousand 
reduction  Indians.  With  these  he  quietly  crossed  the  Tibiquari, 
when,  suddenly  meeting  Antequera  at  the  head  of  three  thousand 
men,  he  was  completely  routed  and  forced  back  into  the  mission 
territory.  The  victorious  governor  next  proceeded  to  inflict  sum- 
mary punishment  upon  the  missionaries  and  T;heir  reductions. 
He  began  the  work  of  destruction  by  attacking  several  of  the 
towns  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  city,  when  he  was  checked  by 
the  report  that  five  thousand  natives  were  advancing  upon  him, 
and  wisely  retreated  to  Asuncion,  as  his  force  was  mconsiderable. 
The  Guarani  were  no  longer  the  ill-clad,  unarmed,  unwarlike, 
persecuted  natives  of  former  days.  Now  organized  into  well- 
trained,  well-armed  bodies,  and  led  by  not  unskillful  ofiicers,  it 
required  consideration  before  engaging  under  the  disadvantage 
of  such  great  numerical  inferiority. 

The  governor  was  as  resolved  as  ever,  notwithstanding  this  lit- 
tle reverse,  in  his  purpose  of  opposing  any  force  sent  against  bim, 
and  the  triumphal  greetings  that  awaited  him  on  his  return  to 
Asuncion  still  farther  excited  his  ambition.  Great  was  the  sur- 
prise when  the  news  of  these  events  reached  Lima.  The  Jesuits 
banished,  Don  Balthazar  beaten,  and  Paraguay  in  open  rebellion : 
here  was  a  rapid  succession  of  difficulties  that  fell  with  the  force 
of  a  united  blow  upon  the  Audience  of  Charcas  and  the  viceroy. 
Orders  were  immediately  forwarded  to  Zavala,  Governor  of  Bue- 
nos Ayres,  to  march  upon  Asuncion,  seize  Antequera,  and  punish 
the  rebels  accordingly  as  they  deserved. 

Zavala  left  Buenos  Ayres  in  January  of  1725,  and  entered 
Asuncion  in  April  of  the  same  year.  Antequera  and' bis  accom- 
plices had  taken  the  safe  course  of -^abandoning  the  city  in  good 
time,  so  that  every  thing  was  peaceably  secured.  By  by-roads 
and  almost  alone  the  ex-governor  found  his  way  to  Cordova, 
where  he  shortly  learned  that  a  price  had  been  set  upon  bis  per- 
son by  the  Audience  of  Charcas.    He  proceeded  secretly  to  La 


DEATH  OF  ANTEQUERA.  529 

Plata,  was  arrested,  brouglit  before  the  Audience,  found  guilty, 
and  after  a  short  imprisonment  dispatched  under  guard  to  Lima, 
where  he  was  closely  confined.  The  viceroy,  the  Marquis  del 
Fuerte,  anxious  to  rid  himself  of  the  responsibility  of  bringing  his 
prisoner  to  trial,  wrote  to  Spain  that  he  might  be  conveyed  thith- 
er. The  king,  however,  commanded  that  he  should  be  tried 
where  he  was,  and  if  found  guilty  executed  as  a  rebel,  Ante- 
quera  was  consequently  brought  before  the  Audience  of  Lima. 
Ris  trial,  lasting  several  years,  excited  much  interest ;  the  charges 
against  him  were  gross  and  undeniable,  but  he  had  the  cheering 
sympathies  of  the  people.  A  commissioner  was  dispatched  to 
Asuncion  to  secure  all  possible  evidence  either  in  his  favor  or 
against  him,  and  this  evidence  sealed  the  fate  of  the  unfortunate 
governor.  He  was  found  guilty  of  high  treason  by  the  Audience, 
and  was  sentenced  to  be  taken  from  prison  clothed  in  a  cloak  and 
hood,  placed  upon  a  horse  caparisoned  in  black,  and,  preceded  by 
a  herald,  whose  duty  it  was  to  proclaim  the  crimes  of  which  the 
condemned  had  been  convicted,  to  be  thus  conducted  to  the  great 
square,  there  to  be  executed  on  a  scaffold  by  the  side  of  a  lower 
one  on  which  his  accomphce,  Don  John  de  Mena,  was  to  be  stran- 
gled,* 

This  announcement  roused  the  people  of  Lima,  The  condemn- 
ed rebel,  on  leaving  his  prison  on  the  5th  of  July,  1731,  found 
himself  surrounded  by  a  devoted  and  enthusiastic  populace,  mad- 
dened at  the  sentence  that  had  been  passed  upon  him.  They 
thronged  the  streets,  the  balconies,  and  windows.  Cries  of  "  Mer- 
cy!  mercy !"  were  mingled  with  the  more  threatening  sounds  of 
"  Injustice !  injustice !"  The  herald,  in  the  midst  of  the  tumult, 
delivered  his  proclamation,  but  it  produced  no  effect.  Even  the" 
appearance  of  a  body  of  soldiers  and  horsemen  failed  to  appease  the 
tumult.  There  were  fears  of  the  prisoner  being  released,  when 
the  viceroy,  attended  by  a  guard,  rode  to  the  spot;  his  presence 
only  infuriated  the  people  the  more.  He  retorted  fiercely  by  an 
order  to  fire  upon  the  prisoner.  Antequera  fell  dead,  and  it  was 
supposed  that  the  two  friars  who  attended  him  perished  similarly 
by  the  volley.  In  regard  to  this  Charlevoix  introduces  a  remark 
rather  singular  for  its  uningenuity:  "Two  of  the  religious  who 
assisted  the  criminal  might  have  fallen  (from  their  horses)  through 
fear,  and  been  afterward  trampled  to  death."  Antequera's  body 
was  placed  upon  the  scaffold  and  his  head  dissevered.     More  than 

*  Charlevoix,  book  ii.,  p.  260. 

34 


530  KETUEN  OF  THE  JESUITS. 

once  he  had  rebelled  against  the  highest  authority  in  Spanish 
America,  and  according  to  the  laws  of  the  day,  met  with  a  de- 
serving fate ;  but  it  would  be  difficult  to  discover  any  thing  more 
reprehensible  in  his  conduct  than  in  that  of  Bishop  Cardenas. 
Both  had  neglected  the  viceroy's  orders,  and  opposed  those  sent 
to  enforce  them ;  both  had  expelled  the  Jesuits.  Cardenas,  in- 
deed, was  less  considerate  than  Antequera,  for  he  seized  upon 
both  the  temporal  and  the  spiritual  power  of  the  province.  The 
governor  paid  the  penalty  with  his  head ;  the  bishop  was  even 
honored  by  the  Pope  with  a  removal  of  the  censures  that  had 
been  at  first  imposed  upon  him. 

Zavala  did  not  remain  longer  at  Asuncion  than  was  necessary 
for  the  purpose  of  appointing  a  governor :  his  choice  fell  upon 
Don  John  de  Barua. 

A  marked  policy  is  observable  in  the  course  of  every  Governor 
of  Asuncion — to  favor  the  Jesuits  or  oppose  them.  The  sequel 
to  the  many  contests  for  governorship  was  either  ill  treatment  of 
the  order  and  their  expulsion  from  the  city,  or  a  still  greater  en- 
largement of  their  power.  One  commotion  confiscated  all  their 
property  and  reduced  them  to  beggary,  the  next  gave  them  com- 
plete control  over  the  affairs  of  the  province.  We  might  suppose 
that  the  flight  of  Antequera  would  be  followed  by  their  restora- 
tion ;  but  the  disposition  of  Barua  toward  them  was  not  friendly, 
and  he  avoided,  as  best  he  could,  the  viceroy's  instructions  to  that 
effect,  until  a  more  peremptory  command  put  an  end  to  his  inde- 
cision. The  Jesuits  must  return  to  Asuncion,  and  with  all  the 
honors  and  marks  of  respect  due  to  that  distinguished  order.  It 
was  in  accordance  with  these  instructions  that,  in  March  of  1728, 
the  whole  military  force  of  Asuncion  was  drilled  early  in  the 
morning  of  the  18th,  and  marched  out  of  the  city,  followed  by  the 
governor,  bishop,  the  chief  officers  of  the  government,  and  an  at- 
tendant cavalcade  of  horsemen,  on  their  way  to  welcome  the  fa- 
thers, at  a  distance  of  twelve  miles,  and  escort  them  back  to  their 
college.  The  two  parties  re-entered  the  city  under  salutes ;  and 
prayers  and  Te  Deums  completed  the  excitement  of  the  day. 

We  pass  rapidly  from  this  act  of  peace  to  another  of  trouble. 
The  people  of  Paraguay  were  growing  each  day  more  restless. 
We  begin  already  to  discover,  at  the  end  of  a  long  succession  of  tu- 
mults and  popular  commotions,  faintly  depicted,  a  future  attempt 
to  doff  the  control  of  a  power  beyond  the  Paraguay  and  Parana. 
In  1730  matters  were  brought  to  a  chmax.     Barua's  governorship 


COMMUNEKOS  AND  CONTRABANDOS.  531 

was  only  intended  to  be  temporary,  and  his  removal  was  followed 
by  the  appointment  of  D.  Ignatius  Saroeta.  The  new  governor 
met  with  open  opposition  in  the  city,  and  hopelessly  abandoned 
it  after  a  very  short  visit.  A  declared  rebellion  rose  throughout 
the  country ;  the  will  of  the  people  was  overtly  preached  to  be 
paramount  to  that  of  the  king;  they  must  have  a  ruler  suited 
to  their  own  views.  Two  parties,  Communeros  and  Contrahandos^ 
the  former  for  the  people,  the  latter  for  the  king,  now  distracted 
the  country  with  their  opposing  arms.  Barua,  in  the  mean  time, 
thought  it  best  to  "  be  not  too  bold."  Wily  enough  to  publicly 
reprimand  the  disturbers  of  the  peace,  he  adopted  a  very  different 
tone  in  his  private  intercourse  with  them,  and  secretly  seconded 
all  their  measures  so  long  as  they  did  not  directly  aim  at  the  es- 
tablishment of  an  independent  power.  Brought  to  this  point,  he 
hesitated,  and  being  unwilling  to  endanger  his  life  by  such  ex- 
treme action,  he  took  the  safe  course  of  resigning. 

After  deposing  all  the  king's  ofl6.cers,  and  throwing  many  into 
prison,  the  Communeros  bethought  themselves  of  some  head  to 
their  government.  A  junta  was  formed,  and,  having  grown  some- 
what weary  of  the  title  of  governor,  a  president  was  chosen  to 
preside  over  that  body.  The  first-elected  chief  was  Don -Josef 
Lewis  de  Barreyro,  who,  having  shown  himself  to  incline  to  the 
Contrabandos  and  the  service  of  the  king,  was  speedily  disposed 
of,  that  a  stauncher  republican  might  be  put  in  his  place.  A  wild 
ferment  followed  the  news  of  Antequera's  death,  which  was  re- 
ceived about  this  time.  -  If  Antequera  were  a  rebel,  so  were  all 
the  actors  in  the  present  movement  rebels ;  they,  too,  if  captured, 
must  necessarily  perish  on  the  scaffold,  and  with  this  fear  they 
grew  strong  in  their  rebellion.  This  feeling  foreshadowed  an- 
other attack  upon  the  Jesuits.  Antequera  was  the  arch-enemy 
of  Loyola's  order,  so  the  Communeros  also  became  violent  in  their 
opposition,  and  quickly  decided  upon  their  expulsion.  In  1732 
the  college  was  attacked,  its  inmates  driven  out  and  the  building 
pillaged.  Once  more  the  fathers  mournfully  plodded  their  weary 
way  to  the  nearest  missions. 

Soon  an  alarm  spread  to  the  reductions  that  those  nearest  to 
Asuncion  were  in  danger.  They  presented  at  this  period  quite  a 
belhcose  aspect,  for  the  fathers  had  kept  in  the  field  for  some  time 
past  a  standing  army  of  several  thousand  natives,  in  daily  ex- 
pectation of  coming  in  contact  with  the  Communeros.  As  a 
guard  to  the  frontier  missions,  seven  thousand  men  were  sta- 


532  NEW  TROUBLES. 

tioned  on  tlie  Tibiquari,  prepared  for  any  emergency.  They 
were  well  armed,  well  equiped,  and  sufficiently  experienced  to 
render  them  not  a  little  formidable.  But  the  appointment  of  Don 
Manuel  de  Kuiloba  to  the  governorship  of  Asuncion  somewhat 
abated  this  military  uproar  and  painful  suspense.  Well  aware, 
however,  that  he  would  require  considerable  force  to  establish  his 
authority,  or  even  enter  that  volcanic  city,  he  sought  successfully 
this  assistance  among  the  Jesuit  missions,  and  on  the  banks  of  the 
Aguapay  found  encamped  a  large  and  well-organized  body  of  In- 
dians ready  to  act  at  his  command.  First,  and  wisely,  making 
overtures  to  the  rebel  authorities,  with  the  hope  of  settling  the  dis- 
pute in  a  peaceable  manner,  he  was  met  by  them  at  the  Tibiquari, 
and  to  his  great  astonishment  received  assurances  of  their  willing 
obedience. 

A  few  days'  journey  brought  him  to  the  capital,  where  he  took 
up  his  residence  in  the  governor's  house ;  but  from  that  moment 
affairs  presented  a  different  aspect.  In  an  attempt  to  disband  the 
Communeros  and  quench  the  independent  spirit  of  parties  that 
raged  throughout  the  city,  he  was  most  hopelessly  foiled ;  resist- 
ed, too,  in  other  measures,  abandoned  by  those  in  whom  he  had 
been  led  to  place  the  greatest  confidence  at  the  most  critical  mo- 
ment, his  gubernatorial  existence  soon  drew  to  a  close. 

The  removal  of  the  Junta,  or  General  Junta,  was  the  work  of 
a  day ;  the  title  of  President  being  changed  to  that  of  Defender. 
Grown  bolder  than  ever,  the  Communeros  essayed  to  bring  the 
■king's  party  to  terms  by  a  sweeping  confiscation  of  all  their  prop- 
erty ;  they  then  proceeded  to  inflict  a  similar  punishment  upon 
the  Jesuits.  Finally,  in  order  to  have  the  fathers  and  their  mis- 
sions at  a  safer  distance,  they  forced  the  Defender  to  sign  an  edict 
which  imposed  upon  the  Jesuits  the  obligation  of  removing  all 
their  reductions  to  the  other  side  of  the  river.  The  people  of 
Asuncion,  too  obstinate  to  retreat,  looked  forward  with  uncon- 
cerned boldness  to  an  open  rupture  with  the  king's  force,  and 
Zavala  was  not  slow  in  making  them  feel  its  power.  His  many 
years  of  faithful  services  had  been  lately  rewarded  by  an  appoint- 
ment to  the  presidency  of  Charcas,  but  before  entering  upon  his 
new  duties  he  proceeded  to  restore  peace  and  order  in  this  long- 
troubled  and  disordered  province.  He  was  clement  where  clem- 
ency could  be  of  avail ;  but  upon  this  occasion  saw  that  severe 
and  forcible  measures  alone  would  enable  him  to  accomplish  his 
object.     Strong  garrisons  were  placed  along  the  frontier  of  Para- 


INTRIGUES  IN  SPAIN.  533 

guay,  in  addition  to  a  considerable  force  stationed  on  the  Tibiqua- 
ri,  the  Eubicon  that  had  so  often  separated  the  rebels  of  Asuncion 
from  the  king's  good  subjects  of  Buenos  Ay  res  and  the  missions. 

The  Communeros  made  a  desperate  effort  to  raise  an  adequate 
opposing  force.  Scouring  the  country  they  forced  Indians  and 
Spaniards  alike  to  take  up  arms;  the  jails  were  opened  that  their 
inmates  might  be  enlisted  into  the  new  army,  but  all  to  no  pur- 
pose. Neither  in  numbers  or  efiiciency  could  they  match  with 
the  cautious  governor  of  Buenos  Ayres.  In  every  fight  and  skir- 
mish they  were  unsuccessful.  Zavala  entered  the  city  in  triumph. 
It  would  seem  needless  to  add  that  the  Jesuits,  amid  Te  Deums 
and  church  celebrations,  returned  to  their  college,  which,  strange 
to  say,  escaped  the  general  demolition  of  property. 

Finally,  after  passing  through  this  ordeal  of  trials  and  adver- 
sities, of  a  triumph  here  and  a  defeat  there,  the  gladdening  beams 
of  good  fortune  shone  once  more  upon  the  Jesuits  and  their  mis- 
sions. Their  usually  well  cultivated  fields,  neglected  during  those 
two  or  three  years  of  alarm  and  contest  with  the  Communeros, 
waved  and  bloomed  as  ever.  The  natives,  long  drilled  to  arms 
and  kept  on  the  alert,  returned  to  their  more  peaceful  occupations, 
and  never  had  they  appeared  to  enjoy  greater  security  from  with- 
out or  within.  But  the  enemy  had  only  changed  his  field  of  ac- 
tion. Baffled  in  Paraguay  and  driven  from  Asuncion,  the  nest  of 
factious  disturbances,  they  had  recourse  to  a  more  subtle  mode  of 
procedure  at  the  court  of  Madrid.  The  seed  of  Jesuit  influence 
and  power,  which,  in  the  middle  of  the  sixteenth  century,  had  been 
planted  in  Spanish  America,  was  now  the  expanded  and  over- 
shadowing growth  of  a  century,  nipped,  it  is  true,  from  time  to 
time,  by  the  frosts  of  Spanish  jealousy,  or  stunted  by  the  inhuman 
depredations  of  Portuguese  bandits,  but  alive  and  strong  withal. 
That  independence  and  isolation  from  outside  social  intercourse 
as  well  as  government  control  which  successive  Spanish  monarchs 
had  sanctioned  and  decreed  rendered  the  Jesuits,  in  their  missions 
at  least,  safe  from  any  force  that  could  be  brought  against  them 
on  this  side  of  the  waters.  To  strike  then  at  the  very  root  of  the 
institution  it  was  necessary  to  poison  the  king's  ear,  the  only  su- 
preme authority  recognized  by  the  Paraguay  missions.  The  order 
bore  the  burden  of  too  long  a  catalogue  of  enemies  to  escape  the 
defamatory  pamphlets  and  libelous  writings,  under  every  form, 
that  soon  swarmed  throughout  the  continent,  but  particularly  in 
Spain.     Men  who  had  httle  or  no  knowledge  of  the  state  and  con- 


534  LETTER  OF  PHILIP  V. 

dition  of  the  missionary  reductions,  dotted  down  tlie  grossest 
misrepresentations.  Jesuit  ambition,  Jesuit  aspirations,  Jesuit  dis- 
loyalty and  dishonesty  were  penned  in  every  shape  in  all  the  con- 
ceits of  language.  As  David  said  of  himself,  it  was  not  one  sin 
they  had  committed,  but  they  were  "  shapen  in  iniquity."  It 
would  be  dangerous  to  the  Spanish  empire  to  allow  the  existence 
of  so  continually  spreading  and  grasping  an  independency.  The 
establishment  of  a  hierocracy  upon  the  American  continent  was 
contemplated  with  horror  and  alarm.  Essays,  poems,  petitions, 
and  letters  inflamed  all  minds  for  the  contest.  The  Jesuits  must 
be  removed  to  avert  the  like  startling  prospects  that  were  fore- 
shadowed in  a  thousand  forms.  Barua  played  an  important  part 
in  this  literary  drama.  He  wrote  much  in  favor  of  the  anti- Jes- 
uit party,  but  was  ably  answered  by  Father  D'Aguilar — a  defense* 
that  met  with  the  approbation  of  Philip  V.,  who  evinced  neither 
enmity  for  nor  fear  of  the  Jesuits.  He  was  unmoved  by  the  viru- 
lent antagonism  of  many  in  high  authority,  and,  as  a  manifestation 
of  kindly  feelings  for  the  missionaries  and  his  Indian  subjects,  took 
occasion  to  write  them  a  most  approving  letter.  The  following 
occurs  in  it : 

"  In  fine,  as  it  is  easy  to  see  by  all  the  pieces  already  referred 
to,  and  by  other  ancient  and  modern  papers  which  have  been  ex- 
amined in  my  council  with  all  the  attention  an  affair  of  this  im- 
portance required,  that  I  have  not  in  any  part  of  my  dominions 
vassals  who  better  acknowledge  my  sovereignty,  the  duties  of  the 
vassalage  due  to  me  and  my  royal  patronage,  or  among  whom  civil 
and  ecclesiastical  jurisdiction  is  better  established,  as  evidently  ap- 
pears by  the  continual  visits  of  bishops  and  governors ;  or  who 
pay  a  blinder  obedience  to  my  orders  *  *  *  *  I  have  re- 
solved to  address  a  schedule  to  the  Provincial  to  let  him  know 
what  pleasure  it  gives  me  to  see  the  calumnies  and  impostures  of 
Aldimate  and  Barua  refuted  by  so  many  justifications,"  etc.f- 

Thus,  the  attacks  of  their  enemies  in  Spain  had,  so  far,  availed 
nothing  against  them.  In  the  year  1743  the  missions  were  in  the 
enjoyment  of  unparalleled  prosperity  and  power.     Jesuit  suprem- 

*  Vol.  ii.,  book  13.  This  defense  of  Father  D'Aguilar  fell  into  the  hands  of  Don 
Cajetan  Buonconipagni,  Duke  of  Sota,  a  Neapolitan,  and  was  carried  by  him  to 
Italy.  He  presented  it  to  Muratori,  and  thus  gave  rise  to  a  work  from  that  famous 
antiquarian  chronicler  entitled,  "II  Christianesimo  felice  nelle  missioni,  des  padri 
della  compagnia  de  Jesu  nel  Paraguay."— Charlevoix,  vol.  ii.,  p.  335. 

t  Charlevoix,  vol.  ii.,  p.  360-1.  The  translatioji  of  Charlevoix's  important  work 
is  by  no  means  an  elegant  one. 


STATISTICS  OF  THE  MISSIONS.  535 

acy  was  firmly  established  in  South  America  and  recognized  by 
the  world.  With  the  right,  they  were  otherwise  quite  competent 
to  hold  this  sway  ;  they  were  perfectly  indej)endent  in  possessing 
every  species  of  manufacture  or  produce  which  might  be  of  use  or 
necessity  to  the  reductions,  and  they  were  enabled  to  adopt  such 
exclusive  policy  as  would  best  serve  their  own  interests.  They 
availed  themselves  of  this  advantage,  as  we  shall  now  see. 

We  have,  from  several  authorities,*  statistics  of  the  population 
of  the  missions  from  1730  to  1740.  That  of  the  missions  of  the 
Parana  and  Uruguay  amounted  to  140,000  Christian  souls.  The 
population  of  the  Chiquitos  reductions  was  estimated  at  24,000. 
Others  among  the  Abipones,  the  Pampas  Indians  of  Patagonia, 
and  in  the  Province  of  Tarija,  added  6000,  if  not  more,  to  this 
number.  Don  Joseph  de  Peralto,  Bishop  of  Buenos  Ayres,  tells 
us  that  they  could  raise  an  army  of  from  twelve  to  fourteen  thou- 
sand men,  provided  with  horses,  arms,  and  ammunition,  ready  to 
act  at  any  time  and  in  any  service.  Nearly  that  number  had  been 
for  a  long  time  kept  on  a  war  footing,  as  we  have  seen,  on  account 
of  the  fears  the  Communeros  inspired.  The  Tibiquari  and  the 
frontier  had  been  for  years  more  or  less  vigilantly  guarded.  There 
was,  consequently,  little  ingress  or  egress  into  or  from  the  mission 
territory ;  indeed,  visits  to  the  reductions  were  almost  entirely 
suspended  in  consequence  of  the  dangers  that  menaced  them. 
That  is  the  tone  of  Jesuit  writings ;  but  Azara  pretends  to  have 
obtained  a  farther  insight  into  the  state  of  the  country. 

According  to  him  there  resounded  throughout  the  missions  a 
louder  din  of  warlike  preparation.  Upon  every  road  ditches  were 
dug  and  strong  palisades  erected  to  prevent  any,  unprovided  with 
a  special  permit,  from  passing  in  or  out.  The  whole  boundary  of 
Missiones  was  girt  with  these  defenses ;  while  at  the  entrance  to 
each  town  a  gate  and  a  guard  obstructed  all  unlawful  passage. 
The  natives  were  not  allowed  to  pass  from  one  reduction  to  an- 
other, unless  in  carrying  orders  or  performing  some  special  duty : 
the  most  restricted  intercourse  was  enforced.  At  the  same  time, 
not  only  were  Spanish  merchants  and  other  interested  persons 
forbidden  entrance  into  this  sacred  land,  bift  requests  from  bish- 
ops and  governors  to  visit  it  repeatedly  declined.  Antequera  sub- 
mitted this  charge  against  the  Jesuits  when  on  his  trial,  and  it  had 
its  weight :  at  present  there  was  no  doubt  of  it.  Moreover,  the 
missionaries  had  been  of  late  providing  themselves  with  an  unu- 

*  Dobrizhoffcr,  Aguilar,  Charlevoix,  etc.,  etc. 


536  DECLINE  OF  THE  JESUITS. 

sual  supply  of  field-pieces,  muskets,  and  ammunition,  for  defense, 
it  was  said,  against  hostile  Indians.*  These  movements  revived 
the  old  suspicions  of  a  desire  to  establish  an  independent  power. 
The  tale  was  again  wafted  across  the  Atlantic ;  the  strife  was  re- 
newed at  the  court  of  Madrid,  but  this  time  with  very  different 
success.  Father  Eobago,  confessor  to  the  king,  writes  to  his 
brothers  in  South  America  "that  the  complaints  received  against 
them  at  the  court  were  so  numerous  and  of  so  grave  a  character 
that  he  had  found  it  impossible  to  prevent  the  effect  they  pro- 
duced, although  he  had  the  king,  whose  confessor  he  was,  at  his 
complete  control,  "f 

But  neither  Spain,  France,  nor  Austria  were  destined  to  be  the 
first  and  chief  instigators  toward  active  and  violent  measures 
against  the  Jesuit  order.  Its  influence  had  diminished  beyond  a 
hope  of  recovery  at  the  respective  courts  of  each  of  those  nations ; 
but  an  initiatory  movement  for  expelling  Loyola's  sons,  or  entire- 
ly suppressing  the  institution,  appalled  the  boldest.  It  was  Portu- 
gal that  first  gave  birth  to  a  man  of  sufficient  nerve  to  take  a  step 
beyond  the  writing  of  "  Provinciales" — to  strangle  the  victim  with 
iron  grip,  and  not  torture  it  to  a  slow  and  lingering  death.  Se- 
bastian Carvalho,  Marquis  of  Pombal,  with  all  his  cruelty,  vindic- 
tiveness,  jealousy,  avarice,  and  ambition,  had  the  courage,  the  pa- 
tience, the  energy,  the  subtlety,  and  combination  of  talent  requisite 
for  a  project  so  unprecedented,  and,  to  all  appearances,  fraught 
with  such  perils.  After  his  return  from  a  mission  to  London  he 
was  sent  to  Vienna  to  settle,  if  possible,  the  difficulties  that  had 
arisen  between  Maria  Theresa  and  the  Pope  with  regard  to  the 
patriarchate  of  Aquilejia.  "  Here,"  says  Cardinal  Pacca,  "  in  the 
focus  of  Protestantism,  he  learned  to  hate  the  Church  and  the  re- 
ligious order."  Whether  or  not  he  imbibed  at  the  court  of  Vien- 
na the  antipathies  or  prejudices  that  there  prevailed,  he  was  in  no 
wise  actuated  by  them  alone.  For  two  centuries  had  the  Jesuits 
governed  Portugal.  From  the  time  they  entered  the  country 
they  instructed  at  the  University  of  Coimbra,  drew  up  the  tariff- 
bills,  presided  in  the  king's  council,  and  established  inquisitions 
on  the  ruins  of  older  ones :  and  though  they  may  have  carried  the 

*  Azara,  vol.  ii.,  chap,  xiii.,  French  edition.  Don  Antonio  d'TJlIoa  mentions 
none  of  the  facts  here  gathered  from  Azara.  He  has,  however,  omitted  many  oth- 
er interesting  and  important  details,  so  that  credit  may  be  given  to  this  account  of 
Azara,  as  he  had  every  means  of  acquiring  correct  information. 

t  Azara,  vol.  ii.,  chap,  xiii.,  p.  217. 


EXPULSION  FROM  PORTUGAL.  537 

Portuguese  name  into  the  heart  of  China,  Portugal  declined  under 
their  rule.  Pombal  had  observed  and  studied  their  institution 
and  sifted  their  measures.  He  owed  his  rise  and  place  to  the 
Jesuits ;  so  that,  when  he  turned  against  them,  it  was  policy,  and 
not  personal  feeling,  that  dictated  the  course.  He  thought  he  saw 
in  their  removal  the  revival  of  Portugal's  energies,  the  opening  of 
her  long-closed  channels.  Pombal  was  king  in  all  but  name ;  he 
needed  but  the  necessary  pretexts  to  make  the  move  that  agitated 
all  Europe  and  extended  to  the  western  hemisphere.  His  first 
pretext  for  assuming  this  defiant  attitude  toward  Rome  arose  from 
an  incident  that  transpired  on  this  side  of  the  Atlantic.  The  bound- 
ary between  the  Spanish  and  Portuguese  possessions  in  South 
America  had  never  been  well  defined.  Disputes  had  on  several 
occasions  arisen  as  to  its  course ;  but  in  1751  the  two  nations  came 
to  a  mutual  understanding ;  the  long-disputed  colony  of  Nova 
Colonia  was  to  be  retained  by  Spain,  and  the  Uruguay  missions 
in  return  attached  to  Brazil.  Commissioners  were  sent  out  to  ar- 
range the  matter  satisfactorily,  but  soon  found  that  their  decision, 
unaccompanied  by  the  sanction  of  the  missionaries,  had  been  too 
hastily  made.  Indeed,  the  Jesuits  most  peremptorily  declined  sub- 
mitting to  any  such  bartering,  in  which  their  interests  were  so  great- 
ly concerned  and  so  liable  to  injury.  JSTothing,  then,  was  effected, 
since  the  boundary  line  was  disputed  by  the  missions.  Pombal 
seized  upon  this  opportunity  to  represent  the  fathers  in  an  odious 
light  at  the  Pontifical  See,  and  to  threaten  them  for  their  disobedi- 
ence. He  did  not  wait  long  for  the  consummation  of  his  design 
against  them.  The  unsuccessful  attempt  to  assassinate  King  Jo- 
seph, a  few  years  afterward,  in  which  the  Jesuits  were  found  to  be 
implicated,  sealed  the  fate  of  Loyola's  order  in  Portugal.  In  1759 
the  marquis  addressed  Clement  XIII.  a  letter  to  inform  him  that 
the  Portuguese  government  had  decided  upon  the  total  expulsion 
of  the  Jesuits  from  the  country,  and,  without  waiting  for  an  answer 
from  his  Holiness,  most  precipitately  landed  them  at  Civita  Vec- 
chia — an  expensive  donation  to  the  Church. 

Pombal  immediately  entered  into  negotiation  with  all  the  Eu- 
ropean courts.  France  was  the  first  to  follow  in  his  footsteps. 
Choiseul,  however,  had  an  aversion  for  the  Portuguese  minister, 
and  probably  did  not  lead  Louis  XV.,  as  usual,  in  this  matter. 
On  the  contrary,  in  his  correspondence  he  says  :  "  Your  Majesty 
knows  well,  although  it  has  been  said  I  have  labored  for  the  ex- 
pulsion of  the  Jesuits,  that  neither  at  home  or  abroad,  in  pubhc 


538  FRANCE  AND  SPAIN. 

or  private  life,  have  I  ever  taken  any  steps  to  effect  this  object."* 
Could  an  original  idea  have  emanated  from  the  bram  of  the  French 
monarch  ?  Was  the  expulsion  of  the  Jesuits  his  own  decree  ?  It 
is  most  probable  that  he  acted  under  the  influence  and  at  the  in- 
stance of  Madame  de  Pompadour,  who,  it  will  be  remembered, 
found,  more  than  once,  difficulty  in  obtaining  a  Jesuit  confessor  so 
long  as  she  should  remain  in  the  king's  household.  It  was  in 
1764  that  this  suppression  took  place  throughout  France.  Louis 
pronounced  an  obituary  notice,  which  has  been  recorded.  It 
would  have  been  gratifying  to  him  to  have  seen  Father  Perisseau 
made  an  abbot !  Choiseul,  who,  after  this  event,  thought  it  best 
that  the  Jesuits  should  exist  in  France  or  not  exist  at  all — sint 
ut  sunt^  aut  non  sint — was  the  first  to  move  in  the  secularization 
of  the  whole  body.  But  it  is  in  Spain  and  the  Spanish  monarch 
that  we  are  most  concerned. 

Charles  III.  occupied  at  this  time  the  Spanish  throne.  On  his 
removal  from  Naples  he  caused  Squillaci,  a  Neapolitan,  to  ac- 
company him,  and  soon  elevated  this  favorite  to  the  post  of  prime 
minister.  Squillaci,  however,  was  not  popular ;  he  succeeded  only 
in  making  himself  odious  to  the  Spaniards.  Arrogant  and  over- 
bearing, he  failed  entirely  to  conciliate  the  high-spirited  and  ill- 
brooking  people  he  was  called  upon  to  govern.  His  attempt  to 
suppress  the  fashion  of  flapped  hats  and  long  cloaks,  so  prevalent 
at  that  time  throughout  Spain,  occasioned  a  popular  revolt  that 
threw  the  Spanish  capital  into  a  state  of  wild  excitement.  Squil- 
laci was  forced  to  flee  the  city,  and  the  Walloon  Guards,  ordered 
out  to  quell  the  commotion,  were  either  cut  to  pieces  or  complete- 
ly routed.  The  king  appeared  in  person  and  addressed  his  sub- 
jects ;  he  promised  to  remove  the  much-hated  minister ;  he  was 
willing  to  make  every  reasonable  concession ;  but  nothing  could 
restore  the  peace  until  a  few  Jesuits,  appearing  in  the  midst  of 
this  troubled  mass  of  people,  exhorted  them  to  calm  their  pas- 
sions and  disperse  to  their  homes. 

It  was  strange  indeed  that  none  but  these  fathers  should  have 
been  able  to  quell  this  commotion  at  Madrid.  Could  they  have 
possibly  occasioned  the  tumult?  "Charles  thought  so,  and  did 
not  forget  it,"  says  Saint  Priest.  Probably  they  only  sought  to  re- 
move the  Neapolitan  favorite — monopolizer  of  the  king's  thoughts 
and  counsel — and  once  more  force  themselves  into  those  strong- 
holds around  the  throne  which  had  on  previous  occasions  given 

*  Saint  Priest,  Chute  iles  Jesiiites,  p.  32.     Paris,  1844. 


EXPULSION  FROM  SPAIN.  539 

them  sucli  weight  and  control  in  the  affairs  of  the  nation.  But 
the  order  had  passed  the  culmination  of  its  power  in  Spain ;  it 
was  no  longer  to  furnish  keepers  of  the  king's  conscience,  though 
it  seemed  yet  to  possess  sufficient  vitality  to  stem  the  current  of 
prejudice  and  misfortune  that  was  setting  against  it.  Their  ex- 
pulsion in  1759  from  Portugal,  and  in  1764  from  France,  may 
have  occasioned  no  great  surprise,  but  news  of  a  similar  move- 
ment in  Spain  was  startling  beyond  all  conception.  The  Jesuits 
imagined  that,  though  persecuted  by  Pombal  and  Louis,  they 
might  at  least  find  a  safe  retreat  under  the  government  of  the 
good  and  pious  Charles,  the  most  cherished  son  of  the  Pope; 
but  the  Spanish  monarch  had  found  them,  as  he  remarked  to  the 
French  embassador,  "a  dangerous  body;"  he  might  banish  them, 
and  still  be  a  good  Catholic.  Aranda,  his  minister,  thought  like- 
wise, and  counseled  immediate  and  energetic  action.  On  the  27th 
of  February,  1767,  about  a  year  after  the-" hat  revolt,"  Charles 
issued  a  decree  banishing  the  Jesuits  from  au  his  dominions,  never 
to  return,  nor  even  hold  intercourse  by  letter  or  otherwise  with 
his  people.  The  colleges  were  surrounded  at  midnight ;  the  bells 
secured ;  each  brother  allowed  his  breviary,  linen,  chocolate, 
snuff,  and  money ;  then,  surrounded  by  an  escort  of  dragoons, 
they  were  conducted  to  the  coast  and  as  speedily  shipped.  They 
sailed  for  Italy.  Father  Ricci,  general  of  the  order,  determined 
not  to  receive  his  brothers.  Charles  insisted;  but  powder  and 
shot  soon  drove  them  from  Civita  Vecchia.  They  put  to  sea 
again,  touching  at  Leghorn  and  Genoa,  where  the  same  inhospi- 
table reception  awaited  them.  Thus  for  six  months  were  upward 
of  six  thousand  Jesuits — among  them  many  men  of  worth  and 
learning — tossed  about  the  Mediterranean,  with  every  prospect  of 
a  continuous  sea-faring  life.  Finally,  after  much  dispute,  they 
were  permitted  to  land  in  Corsica,  and  there  subsisted  as  best 
they  could.  A  month  after  the  issuing  of  the  decree  of  expulsion 
Charles  wrote  to  the  Pope : 

"  Most  Holy  Father,— Your  Holiness  is  well  aware  that  the  first  duty 
of  a  sovereign  is  to  watch  over  the  peace  and  preservation  of  his  state,  and 
provide  for  the  good  government  and  tranquilhty  of  his  subjects.  In  com- 
pliance with  this  principle  I  have  been  under  the  imperious  necessity  of  re- 
solving upon  the  immediate  expulsion  of  all  the  Jesuits  who  are  established 
in  my  kingdom  and  dominions,  and  to  send  them  to  the  States  of  the  Church, 
under  the  immediate,  wise,  and  holy  direction  of  your  most  holy  beatitude, 
most  worthy  father  and  master  of  all  faithful. 


640  FEELINGS  OF  THE  POPE. 

"  I  should  fall  under  the  obloquy  of  throwing  a  heavy  charge  upon  the 
Apostolic  Privy  Council,  by  obliging  it  to  exhaust  its  treasures  in  the  sup- 
porting of  those  poor  Jesuits  who  happen  to  have  been  my  vassals,  had  I  not 
made  previous  provision,  as  I  have,  for  the  payment  to  each  individual  of  a 
sum  sufficient  to  maintain  him  for  life. 

"  On  such  understanding  I  pray  your  Holiness  to  view  this  my  determin- 
ation simply  as  an  indispensable  step  of  political  economy,  taken  only  after 
mature  examination  and  the  most  profoimd  reflection. 

"  Doing  me  the  justice  to  believe  this,  as  I  pray  you  will,  your  Holiness 
will  surely  grant  your  holy  and  apostolic  benediction  on  this  measure  as  well 
as  on  all  my  actions  which  have  for  their  object,  in  the  same  way,  the  pro- 
motion of  the  honor  and  glory  of  God.  YO  EL  KEY."* 

This  letter  could  liave  brought  but  one  consolation  to  Clement 
XIII.,  and  that  was  the  pecuniary  provision  it  announced.  In- 
deed he  shed  many  a  bitter  tear  over  this  decision  of  one  to  whom 
he  writes,  "  To  our  dearest  son  in  Jesus  Christ,  health  and  apos- 
tolic benediction."  The  blow  fell  heavily  upon  him  in  his  old 
age.     In  his  answer  to  Charles  he  says : 

"  Is  it  the  Catholic  Charles  HI.,  whom  we  so  much  love,  that  is  to  fill  to 
the  brim  the  cup  of  our  bitter  afflictions,  to  ovei^whelm  our  unhappy  old  age 
with  grief  and  tears,  and  finally  precipitate  us  into  the  tomb  ?"t 

Then,  in  an  altogether  different  strain : 

"  We  say  it  in  the  presence  of  God  and  man  that  the  body,  the  institu- 
tion, the  spirit  of  the  Company  of  Jesus  is  absolutely  innocent,  and  not  only 
innocent,  but  that  it  is  pious,  it  is  useful,  it  is  holy ;  and  all  this  whether 
considered  with  reference  to  its  laws,  to  its  maxims,  or  to  its  objects.  Those 
who  have  attempted  to  detract  from  its  merits  have  only  called  down  upon 
their  lies  and  contradictions  the  contempt  and  detestation  of  all  good  and 
impartial  men." 

Without  digressing  farther,  it  would  seem  proper  to  turn  our 
particular  attention  to  the  immediate  effects  and  consequences  of 
this  suppression  throughout  Spanish  America.  We  have  just 
seen  that  Pombal  made  the  opposition  of  the  missionaries  to  the 
boundary  treaty  of  1751  one  of  his  chief  grounds  of  complaint  to 
the  Pope.  Skeptic  minds,  who  never  study  the  substance  and 
truth  of  any  thing,  had  been  for  years  looking  forward  to  the  self- 
announced  independence  of  the  Christian  republic  on  the  Parana 
and  Uruguay.  Their  power  and  prosperity  had,  moreover,  aroused 
the  suspicions  of  even  sensible  minds.     The  council  of  Charles 

*  Kobertson's  Letters  from  Paraguay,  taken  from  MSS.  of  Sir  Woodbine  Parrish. 
t  Ibid. 


PROCEEDINGS  IN  AMERICA.  541 

III,,  to  wliom  was  referred  the  Pope's  letter,  remark  in  their  re- 
port :  "  It  is  proven  against  them  by  the  undeniable  testimony  of 
their  own  papei's*  that  in  Paraguay  they  took  the  field  with  or- 
ganized armies  to  oppose  themselves  to  the  crown ;  and  now  at 
this  very  time  have  they  not  been  in  Spain  endeavoring  to  change 
the  whole  government,  to  modify  it  according  to  their  own  pleas- 
ure, and  to  promulgate  and  put  into  practice  doctrines  the  most 
horrible  ?"  Whatever  credit  may  be  attached  to  this  declaration 
it  was  sufficient  to  initiate  proceedings  against  these  disloyal  sub- 
jects and  promulgators  of  horrid  doctrines. 

Bucareli  was  Viceroy  of  Buenos  Ayres  at  this  important  period. 
He  seems  to  have  entertained  a  most  lively  sense  of  the  import- 
ance and  virtual  power  of  the  Jesuits  on  the  South  American  con- 
tinent. His  whole  conception  of  one  of  these  religious  amounted 
to  a  disloyal  vassal  and  a  dangerous  rebel  watching  for  the  mo- 
ment of  his  independence ;  and  he  shaped  his  conduct  toward  him 
as  if  dealing  with  a  warlike  and  treacherous  Ghana  or  Abipone. 
He  imagined  the  wealth  of  mines  to  be  somewhere  concealed  in 
the  missions,  and  a  standing  army  of  natives,  furnished  with  aU 
the  implements  of  war,  ever  on  the  alert  to  protect  it.  The  meas- 
ures he  took  for  the  suppression  of  the  order  conformed  perfectly 
with  the  alarming  state  of  his  mind. 

On  the  7th  of  June,  1767,  the  Prince,  ship  of  war,  arrived  at 
Buenos  Ayres,  conveying  to  the  viceroy  notice  of  Eang  Charles's 
decree.  He  was  instructed  to  carry  his  orders  into  effect  with  the 
greatest  secrecy,  and  so  arrange  his  plans  that  the  arrestation 
might  take  place  simultaneously  over  as  great  a  space  of  country 
as  possible.  Aranda  thought,  as  Bucareli,  that  the  Jesuits  would 
not  yield  peaceably,  and  hence  a  union  of  their  missions  and  col- 
leges into  one  collective  force  must  at  least  be  prevented.  Had 
the  missionaries,  for  it  was  in  their  power  notwithstanding  this 
caution,  taken  some  such  steps  toward  the  united  action  of  the 
whole  body,  the  contest  might  have  proved  long  and  doubtful. 
The  viceroy,  pursuant  to  these  instructions,  forwarded  his  mes- 
sengers to  the  farthest  limits  of  the  vast  territory  committed  to  his 
administration.  His  dispatches  were  solemn  and  ponderous  docu- 
ments, heavily  sealed,  and  mysterious,  for  they  were  not  to  be 
opened  until  the  21st  of  July.  Thus  at  one  and  the  same  time 
and  hour  this  sudden  blow  was  to  fall  upon  every  member  of  the 

*  These  are  mysterious  papers,  and  should  be  brought  to  light  if  in  actual  exist- 
ence. 


542  AKRESTS  IN  BUENOS  AYRES. 

order.  The  colleges  of  Cordova,  of  Tucuman,  and  Asuncion  were 
to  be  surrounded  at  night,  their  inmates  awakened,  dragged  forth, 
and  dispatched  in  the  darkness  to  Buenos  Ayres.  A  hundred 
devoted  missionaries,  who  had  performed  the  religious  duties  of 
the  day  toward  native  but  Christian  populations,  and,  after  the 
chanting  of  vespers  throughout  that  broad  Indian  land,  retired  to 
their  evening  devotions  and  a  quiet  repose  among  a  good  and 
peaceful  people  that  had,  through  the  trials,  labors,  and  self-denials 
of  Jesuit  brothers,  been  redeemed  from  their  original  rude  and  un- 
tutored state,  were,  at  a  moment  of  time,  to  be  forced  from  their 
missions,  and,  ere  conscious  of  their  situation,  speeded  down  the 
Parana  to  the  general  imprisonment  at  Buenos  Ayres. 

Every  village,  highway,  and  by-road  resounded  day  and  night 
with  the  clattering  advance  of  Bucareli's  swift  messengers.  But 
these  plans  and  directions  which  had  so  much  engaged  his  restless 
and  untiring  zeal  in  an  unworthy  cause  were  now,  by  unforeseen 
events,  partly  frustrated. 

On  the  3d  day  of  July  information  was  received  at  Buenos 
Ayres  of  the  expulsion  of  the  order  from  the  Peninsula.  Buca- 
reli,  fearful  that  the  news  might  spread,  rouse  the  missions  and  the 
clergy,  and,  like  the  dragon's  teeth,  grow  warriors  in  the  Parana 
reductions,  resolved  not  to  wait  for  the  nineteen  days  that  had  yet 
to  elapse,  but  to  immediately  follow  up  the  course  that  had  been 
pursued  on  the  other  side  of  the  waters.  About  midnight  he  held 
a  consultation  with  his  friends  and  advisers,  and  at  an  early  hour 
in  the  morning,  long  before  the  sun  arose,  had  dispatched  his  ofii- 
cers  and  couriers  to  their  respective  duties.  The  fathers  were  to 
be  unconditionally  and  indiscriminately  arrested  wherever  they 
should  chance  to  find  them.  Scouting  parties  were  at  the  same 
time  sent  out  to  intercept  all  messengers  and  communications 
whatever,  and  the  viceroy  kept  a  stout  body-guard  around  him- 
self ready  to  act  at  a  moment's  notice.  His  dreams  of  missionary 
wealth  kept  him  fully  reminded  of  the  necessity  of  stringent  in- 
structions concerning  it.  The  goods  and  chattels  of  every  Jesuit, 
the  gold  and  silver  decorations  of  the  churches,  the  massive  can- 
delabras  and  hidden  treasures,  if  there  were  any,  the  paintings  and 
statuary,  must  pass  safely  into  his  hands ;  and  he  allowed  three 
days  for  forwarding  to  the  capital  every  thing  of  this  description. 
With  all  this  anxiety  and  foresight,  could  they  under  any  circum- 
stances fail  to  come  into  his  possession  ?  What  if  the  riches  and 
stores  he  had  pictured  to  himself  and  others  on  both  sides  of  the 


THE  MISSION  AT  CORDOVA.  543 

Atlantic  should  never  be  realized?  Such  a  thought  creeping 
into  his  mind  was  sufficient  to  cause  the  rankest  suspicions,  which 
he  located  wherever  the  occasion  rendered  it  most  convenient. 
Many  in  consequence  were  thrown  into  prison  or  suffered  severe- 
ly at  his  hands.* 

But  the  imaginary  rapidity  with  which  the  work  was  to  have 
been  done  soon  subsided  and  gave  place  to  a  more  just  apprecia- 
tion of  the  difficult  task  assigned  him.  Not  that  there  was  any 
evidence  of  opposition  to  his  orders ;  but  great  distances  were  to 
be  gone  over,  the  missions  were  to  be  tracked  to  their  isolated  po- 
sitions, broad  rivers  crossed,  and  huge  forests  traversed.  This  was 
not  the  work  of  a  night,  how  dark  soever.  The  couriers  dispatch- 
ed in  the  night  of  the  2d  of  July  effected  but  little.  They  arrest- 
ed a  few  missionaries  here  and  there  at  no  great  distance  from 
Buenos  Ayres,  and  so  terminated  their  labors.  Bucareh  seemed 
for  a  moment  brought  to  stand,  his  activity  paralyzed.  Cordova, 
the  Parana  missions  (the  Chiquitos  came  within  the  jurisdiction 
of  the  Viceroy  of  Peru),  had  not  been  reached ;  time  was  passing, 
and  the  viceroy  remained  a  prey  to  miserable  disappointments 
and  ill  forebodings.  At  last,  in  the  month  of  August,  a  body  of 
troops  headed  by  Don  Ferdinando  Fabro  appeared  on  the  heights 
of  Cordova.  They  entered  the  city  without  resistance,  plundered 
the  college,  the  most  important  and  learned  institution  in  Spanish 
America,  and  made  prisoners  of  all  the  fathers  that  came  within 
their  reach.  To  root  out  the  heretic  doctrines  King  Charles's 
council  had  spoken  of,  they  thought  proper  to  destroy  the  famous 
hbrary  situated  upon  the  Estancia  de  Santa  Catalina,  the  home 
of  the  historian  Guevara.  The  most  valuable  works  and  rarest 
collection  of  manuscripts  on  the  western  continent  were  here  irre- 
trievably lost  in  the  promiscuous  piles  of  printed  and  written  mat- 
ter thrown  up  for  destruction  by  Bucareh's  illiterate  soldiery.f 

Though  but/ew  relics  of  this  great  library  ever  reached  Buenos 
Ayres,  there  was  no  failure  in  forwarding  every  Jesuit  that  had 
been  found.  Two  hundred  and  seventy-one  fathers  were  now  se- 
cured in  that  city.  Bucareli,  thinking  he  might  dispense  with 
them,  shipped  two  hundred  and  twenty-two  for  Cadiz.  Having 
done  this,  he  fell  into  some  repose,  and  took-  no  farther  measures 
until  the  Spring  of  1768. 

"We  have  no  proofs,  and  doubtless  there  are  none,  that  would 

*  Funes'  Ensayo,  book  v.,  chap.  9. 

t  lb.     The  second  volume  of  Guevara's  history  was  destroyed. 


544  MEMOKIAL  IN  FAVOR  OF  THE  JESUITS. 

lead  us  to  credit  tlie  report  often  spread  by  Bucareli  that  tlie  Jes- 
uits gave  evidences  of  and  were  determined  upon  a  stout  resistance 
should  the  Spanish  ever  attempt  to  rob  them  of  their  missions. 
Much  grieved,  without  question,  they  may  have  been,  and  peace- 
ful efforts  to  retain  the  hold  they  had  in  the  Parana  reductions  may 
not  have  been  neglected  by  them ;  but  this  was  all.  A  letter  was 
now  sent  by  the  caciques  and  chief  native  ofl&cers  of  the  missions 
to  Bucareli,  praying  that  the  fathers  might  be  retained.  The  Jes- 
uits are  accused  of  being  the  authors  of  this  document ;  but,  if 
true,  Bucareli  acted  likewise  subsequent  to  their  expulsion. 

Translation  of  a  Memorial  addressed  hy  the  People  of  the  Mission  of 
San  Luis  to  the  Governor  of  Buenos  Ayres,  praying  that  the  Jes- 
uits may  remain  among  them  instead  of  the  Friars  sent  to  replace 
them* 

«  (I.  H.  S.) 
"  God  preserve  your  Excellency,  say  we,  the  Cabildo,  and  all  the  caciques 
and  Indians,  men,  women,  and  children,  of  San  Luis,  as  your  Excellency  is 
our  father.  The  Corregidor  Santiago  Pindo  and  Don  Pantaleon  Cayuari, 
in  their  love  for  us,  have  written  for  certain  birds  which  they  desire  we  will 
send  them  for  the  king.  We  a»e  very  sorry  not  to  have  them  to  send,  in- 
asmuch as  they  live  where  God  made  them,  in  the  forests,  and  fly  far  away 
from  us,  so  that  we  can  not  catch  them.  Withal  we  are  the  vassals  of  God 
and  the  king,  and  always  desirous  to  fulfill  the  wishes  of  his  ministers  in 
what  they  desire  of  us.  Have  we  not  been  three  times  as  far  as  Colonia 
with  our  aid  ?  and  do  we  not  labor  in  order  to  pay  tribute  ?  And  now  we 
pray  God  that  that  best  of  birds,  the  Holy  Ghost,  may  descend  upon  the 
king  and  enlighten  him,  and  may  the  Holy  Ghost  preserve  him.  So,  con- 
fiding in  your  Excellency,  Senor  Governor,  oiu-  proper  father,  with  all  hu- 
mility and  tears  we  beg  that  the  sons  of  St.  Ignatius,  the  fathers  of  the  So- 
ciety of  Jesus,  may  continue  to  live  with  us  and  remain  always  among  us. 
This  we  beg  your  Excellency  to  supplicate  the  king  for  us  for  the  love  of 
God.  All  this  people — men,  women,  and  young  persons,  and  especially  the 
poor — pray  for  the  same  with  tears  in  their  eyes. 

"  As  for  the  friars  and  priests  sent  to  replace  them,  we  love  them  not. 
The  Apostle  St.  Thomas,|  the  minister  of  God,  so  taught  our  forefathers  in 
these  same  parts,  for  these  friars  and  priests  have  no  care  for  us.  The  sons 
of  St.  Ignatius,  yes,  they  from  the  first  took  care  of  our  forefathers,  and 
taught  them,  and  baptized  them,  and  preserved  them  for  God  and  the  king ; 
but  for  these  friars  and  priests,  in  no  manner  do  we  wish  for  them. 

*  Sir  Woodbine  Parrish  :  Buenos  Aj'res  from  the  Conquest,  p.  267. 
t  The  natives  firmly  believed  that  St.  Thomas  had  landed  on  the  coast  of  Brazil 
and  passed  over  to  the  Pacific. 


EFFECTS  OF  THE  MEMORIAL.  545 

"  The  Fathers  of  the  Society  of  Jesus  know  how  to  hear  with  our  weak- 
nesses, and  we  are  happy  under  them  for  God's  sake  and  the  king's.  If 
your  Excellency,  good  Senor  Governor,  will  listen  to  our  prayer  and  grant 
our  request,  we  will  pay  larger  tribute  in  the  yerba  caar  nhni.* 

"  We  are  not  slaves,  and  we  desire  to  say  that  the  Spanish  custom  is  not 
to  our  liking — for  every  one  to  take  care  of  himself,  instead  of  assisting  one 
another  in  their  daily  labors.  This  is  the  plain  truth  which  we  say  to  your 
Excellency,  that  it  may  be  attended  to  :  if  it  is  not,  this  people,  like  the 
rest,  will  be  lost.  This  to  your  Excellency,  to  the  king,  and  to  God — we 
shall  go  to  the  devil !  and  at  the  hour  of  our  death  where  will  be  our 
help? 

"  Our  children,  who  are  in  the  country  and  in  the  towns,  when  they  re- 
tiu-n  and  find  not  the  sons  of  St.  Ignatius,  will  flee  away  to  the  deserts  and 
to  the  forests  to  do  evil.  Already  it  would  seem  that  the  people  of  St. 
Joaquim,  St.  Estanislaus,  St.  Ferdinand,  and  Tymbo,  are  lost.  We  know  it 
well,  and  we  say  so  to  your  Excellency  ;  neither  can  the  Cabildos  ever  re- 
store these  people  for  God  and  the  king  as  they  were.  So,  good  governor, 
grant  us  what  we  ask,  and  may  God  help  and  keep  you.  This  is  what  we 
say,  in  the  name  of  the  people  of  San  Luis,  this  28th  of  February,  1*168. 

"  Your  humble  servants  and  children." 

Here  follow  tlie  signatures  of  the  h^d  mayor ,  judges  of  the  first 
and  second  court  of  the  first  and  second  brotherhood,  four  alder- 
men, secretary  of  the  court  in  the  name  of  forty-one  caciques  and 
others. 

This  petition  fell  like  a  thunderbolt  in  the  Council  of  Bucareli. 
The  sensitive  and  timorous  viceroy  viewed  it  as  the  forerunner  to 
some  more  violent  remonstrance.  He  so  wrote  to  Aranda.  The 
pacific  intention  to  which  he  had  brought  himself,  of  a  simple  re- 
call of  the  missionaries,  was  dissipated  at  the  receipt  of  this  gentle 
and  loyal  epistolary  production.  Failing  heretofore  to  catch  at 
the  faintest  glimpse  of  rebellious  opposition  to  the  king's  decree, 
he  had  ceased  all  warlike  preparations  for  carrying  it  out;  but 
this  letter  revealed  to  his  distempered  imagination  an  outbreak 
and  consequent  campaign  of  no  small  magnitude.  Quiet,  cau- 
tious, and  circumspect  as  ever,  the  details  of  his  present  and  fu- 
ture operations  were  incessantly  considered ;  he  burdened  his 
mind  with  the  labors  of  a  Sisyphus ;  the  world's  weight  rested 
upon  his  Atlas  shoulders  in  this  duty  of  expelling  the  Jesuits. 
Behind  the  shield  of  a  numerous  and  well-provided  native  army 
he  thought  their  lurked  motives  and  objects  dark  and  disloyal. 
Unable  himself  to  see  through  the  impenetrable  mystery  that 

*  An  annual  tribute  was  paid  to  the  crown  in  yerba  or  Paraguay  tea. 

85 


546  A  COUNTER  MEMORIAL. 

hung  arcnind  the  missions,  and  consequently  ill  qualified  to  judge 
what  action  they  might  take  in  the  coming  imaginary  death-strife, 
he  provided  for  the  worst.  We,  after  a  century  of  time,  impar- 
tial and  disinterested,  either  for  pi'aise  or  censure,  pass  through 
these  reductions,  see  and  study  the  people,  and  fathom  as  we  can 
whatever  may  have  been  the  aims  or  intentions  of  their  paternal 
and  all-powerful  guardians,  but  fail  to  discover  the  broodings  of 
rebellion  which  the  viceroy's  gloomy  letters  depicted  to  the  court 
of  Madrid.  We  find  a  peaceful,  Christian,  and  loyal  spirit  resting 
upon  a  numerous  and  happy  people,  who  paid  their  tribute  to 
the  king  and  revered  the  men  under  whose  wise  and  exemplary 
administration  they  had  grown  up  in  the  grace  of  God  and  to 
a  wondrous  civilization,  claiming  nothing,  asking  nothing,  and 
harming  none.  It  is  true  that  strict  discipline  and  military  exer- 
cise had  rendered  them  formidable  in  the  field  upon  several  occa- 
sions, either  in  avenging  wrongs  and  persecutions  inflicted  upon 
themselves  or  in  sustaining  the  lawful  authority  of  the  land.  But 
the  same  discipline  checked  all  turbulence  now. 

Bucareli  carried  out  his  views  and,  as  a  preparatory  step,  occu- 
pied the  Pass  of  Tibiquari,  so  frequently  referred  to,  with  two 
hundred  men,  stationed  an  equal  number  at  San  Miguel,  and  then, 
embarking  at  Buenos  Ayres,  attended  by  three  companies  of  gren- 
adiers* and  sixty  dragoons,  sailed  up  the  Uruguay  as  far  as  the 
Salto  Grande.  Here  he  dispatched  Don  Juan  Francisco  de  la 
Riva  Herrera  with  two  hundred  men  to  execute  his  orders  in  the 
missions  bordering  upon  the  Parana,  and  Don  Francisco  Biuna  de 
Zavala  to  effect  the  same  among  the  Uruguay  reductions.  Leav- 
ing his  ships  at  the  fall  he  advanced  farther  up  the  river,  and  made 
Tapeya  his  head-quarters.  With  the  conquest  of  these  missions 
there  could  be  associated  but  meagre  fame,  to  make  the  most  of 
it,  but  to  find  them  unresisting  and  submitting  even  in  tears 
throws  out  in  bright  relief  their  truly  peaceable  and  Christian 
character.  Seventy-eight  fathers  were  found  in  the  reductions, 
and  the  expedition,  with  its  prisoners,  returned  to  Buenos  Ayres  in 
September,  after  an  absence  of  four  months.f 

The  viceroy  had  in  the  mean  time  taken  occasion  to  draw  up 
an  address  to  Charles  III.,  signed  by  the  Indian  chiefs,  to  coun- 
teract the  effect  of  the  petition  mad^  in  favor  of  the  Jesuits. 
There  was  no  difficulty  in  forcing  the  Indians  to  afiix  their  sig- 
natures to  this  document,  which  was  forwarded  as  their  own, 
*  Eunes.  t  Eunes,  book  v.,  chap.  viii. 


COMPLETE  EXPULSION  OF  THE  JESUITS.  547 

though  diametrically  different  in  tone,  spirit,  and  feeling  from  the 
former.  It  is  addressed  to  "  Our  good  King  Charles  III."  The 
following  occurs  in  it:_ 

"  With  our  whole  heart  do  we  spread  this  letter  out  before  your  royal 
throne.  We  have  already  seen  enough  to  assure  us,  good  king,  that  the 
Lord  in  his  mercy  has  enlightened  you  as  to  our  pitiable  condition,  and 
moved  you  to  relieve  us  from  the  arduous  life  to  which  we  were  doomed. 

"  As  we  would  receive  the  person  of  your  Majesty,  so  with  the  greatest 
delight  have  we  received  the  priests  and  friars  whom  you  ha.ve  appointed  to 
rule  over  us.  Many  and  repeated  thanks  do  we  give  your  Majesty  for  hav- 
ing sent  such  a  person  to  govern  us  as  his  Excellency  the  Captain-general 
Don  Francisco  Paulo  Bucareli.  With  pity  he  looked  upon  our  poverty  and 
did  all  he  could  for  its  alleviation.  His  kindness  has  been  made  manifest 
to  the  whole  world.  He  has  clothed  us  with  garments,  behaved  to  us  and 
invited  us  to  his  board  as  if  we  were  gentlemen.  He  has  gratified  the 
highest  aspirations  of  our  hearts.  We  have  received  this  saint,  the  creature 
of  your  Majesty,  as  at  the  hands  of  God."* 

The  greater  part  of  it  is  a  eulogy  upon  the  saintly  Bucareli, 
whose  modesty  did  not  deter  him  from  thus  attempting  to  raise 
himself  in  his  Majesty's  estimation.  In  the  same  year  the  Audience 
of  Charcas  executed  its  charge  by  removing  the  Jesuits  from  Chi- 
quitos.  And  thus  two  hundred  and  twenty  years  from  the  time 
when  the  first  Jesuits  landed  upon  the  Brazilian  coast  not  one  of 
Loyola's  sons  remained  upon  the  South  American  continent,  the 
great  field  of  their  missionary  labors  and  imperishable  glory. 

Thus  the  reported  standing  armies,  the  supplies  of  fire-arms,  the 
field-pieces  and  muskets,  and  the  stores  of  ammunition  which  had 
so  startled  the  outside  world  of  Spanish  America  in  contemplation 
of  resistance  to  the  king's  decree  vanished  like  so  much  smoke. 
Not  a  warlike  demonstration  was  made.  Meekly  obedient  to  their 
pastors,  the  natives  gathered  around  the  missionaries  in  quiet 
submission  to  their  decision,  and  awaited  without  a  sign  of  resist- 
ance the  approach  of  Bucareli's  advancing  pajrties.  Without  a 
murmur,  they  committed  to  their  charge  every  possession  that  had 
fallen  to  their  lot,  unresistingly  yielding  the  last  temporal  and 
spiritual  gains  that  had  been  amassed  by  their  labors — amassed  at 
the  price  of  blood  and  Christian  self-denial — to  be  devoted  to  the 
decoration  of  churches,  the  increase  and  improvement  of  missions 
and  schools,  never  to  their  own  personal  gratification.  A  mourn- 
fal  destiny  awaited  them:  they  were  to  be  eventually  repulsed 

*  Translated  by  Robertson  from  MS.  of  Sir  Woodbine  Parrish, 


548  LOYALTY  OF  THE  JESUITS. 

by  their  general,  and  not  allowed  to  find  a  refage  from  tlie  world- 
wide persecution  that  followed  them,  even  in  the  States  of  the 
Pope. 

There  can  scarcely  be  a  doubt  that  a  formidable  resistance 
might  have  been  made  by  the  Jesuits  against  Bucareh  had  they 
seen  fit  or  felt  disposed  to  pursue  that  course.  It  has  already 
been  remarked  that  an  army  of  fourteen  thousand  men,  completely 
equipped,  could  have  been  raised,  in  case  of  emergency,  through- 
out the  missions.  Though  not  the  most  warlike  of  the  aborigines, 
the  Guarani  of  the  reductions  were  brave  and  well  disciplined. 
Had  they  taken  possession  of  the  fastnesses  in  the  wilds  of  a  coun- 
try so  little  known  to  any  but  themselves,  they  might  have  enter- 
tained every  hope  of  the  success  that  had  previously  attended 
their  arms  against  the  Paulistas,  than  whom  no  enemy  could  be 
more  fearless  and  daring,  none  more  rightly  dreaded.  And  we 
may  reasonably  suppose  that  in  the  face  of  this  force  the  viceroy 
would  probably  either  have  retreated  or  been  repulsed.  They 
might  have  judged  that  their  success  could  only  be  temporary, 
and  that  their  ruin  in  the  end  would  only  be  the  more  overwhelm- 
ing, but  there  was  even  here  a  ray  of  hope  to  persevering  minds 
such  as  theirs.  They  had  declined  on  a  previous  occasion  to  rec- 
ognize the  boundary  treaty  of  1751,  and  the  king  had  yielded; 
they  might  beat  off  Bucareli,  declare  their  loyalty,  and  yet  be 
pardoned.  Nor  are  we  inclined  to  suppose  that  the  meshes  of 
Buca:^eli  were  so  well  laid  as  to  have  forced  upon  them  the  alter- 
native of  tame  submission.  The  Jesuits  were  not  out-Jesuited  and 
checkmated  at  last ;  they  had  all  the  prudence,  the  foresight  and 
sagacity  and  natural  means  that  they  ever  had,  and,  more,  a  large 
and  considerable  force  to  sustain  the  power  that  had  so  long  con- 
tinued in  their  grasp.  No  coup-de-main  or  diplomatic  trickery 
on  the  part  of  the  viceroy  brought  them  to  the  humble  terms 
under  which  they  yielded  up  their  persons  and  their  goods.  We 
conceive  their  whole  conduct  to  have  been  governed  by  a  sense  of 
simple  obedience  to  a  decree  of  the  Spanish  monarch,  and  we  must 
with  justice  incline  to  their  cause,  and  sympathize  in  their  misfor- 
tunes. From  the  outset  we  discover  no  evidence  of  any  contrary 
movement.  In  their  whole  history  we  meet  with  scarcely  a  dis- 
loyal act,  though  we  trace  their  course  through  a  succession  of 
popular  commotions  and  revolts  among  a  wildly-scheming  and 
adventurous  people.  Often  had  they  taken  up  arms  in  the  service 
of  the  king,  never  against  him ;  and  it  may  be  safely  added  that 


INFLUENCE  OF  THE  JESUITS.  549 

by  no  other  people,  order,  or  body  of  men  were  Spanisb  interests 
ever  so  advanced  on  the  American  continent. 

Their  removal  was  neither  wise  nor  politic.  It  served  neither 
the  means  nor  interests  of  the  Spanish  people,  or  the  Spanish 
monarch.  The  missionary's  life  was  pre-eminently  the  sphere  of 
the  Jesuit.  The  genius,  the  acquirement,  the  aims  that  made  his 
presence  dangerous  at  Continental  courts,  made  him  eminently 
useful  in  the  wilds  of  La  Plata.  In  driving  them  from  the  mis- 
sions of  Chiquitos,  of  the  Parana,  of  the  Uruguay,  and  all  others, 
we  perceive  an  inconsiderate,  uncharitable,  unchristian  aim  at 
their  complete  extinction,  almost  without  a  purpose.  The  aged 
Pope  Clement  designated  the  order  as  useful,  pious,  and  holy,  and 
these  three  quahties  were  to  be  found  in  the  missionary  reductions 
of  South  America,  however  wanting  elsewhere. 

Azara  pursues  them  with  unrelenting  enmity  in  all  their  meas- 
ures. He  approves  of  the  comvianderies^  first  instituted  by  Yrala 
as  a  last  resort  for  extending  the  territory  of  his  governorship ; 
he  considered  the  latter  means  as  the  most  applicable  for  enlarg- 
ing the  boundaries  of  Spanish  America,  and  yet  inconsistently 
depreciates  the  benefits  of  Jesuit  missionaries.  No  conquistador 
ever  fought  with  such  success  as  did  the  fathers,  and  no  greater 
expanse  of  country  ever  fell  to  his  lot.  But  Paulistas  and  Com- 
muneros,  enemies  themselves  of  the  crown,  gradually  completed 
the  work  of  their  destruction. 

And  again :  we  are  led  to  inquire  whether  the  Jesuit  teachings 
tended  more  than  any  other  to  benefit  the  state  temporal  and 
spiritual  of  the  many  indigenous  tribes  that  had  beeii  released  by 
them  from  their  original  barbarism.  There  are  those  who  con- 
demn— not  arguing  always — Jesuit  interestedness,  Jesuit  ambi- 
tion, and  the  condition  of  pupilage  in  which,  to  the  last,  the  Indians 
were  held.  K  there  were  nothing  in  the  Jesuitic  rule  to  excite 
emulation,  yet  the  natives  lived  happily  under  it,  attained  a  con- 
siderable civilization,  and  relapsed  rapidly  into  barbarism  under 
the  temporal  and  spiritual  rule  which  replaced  that  of  the  fathers. 
We  doubt  whether  a  more  enlarged  system  of  instruction  could 
have  been  substituted  in  that  age ;  and  humanity  must  deplore  the 
destruction  of  that  Christian  foundation  upon  which  might  have 
been  reared,  at  a  later  period,  a  noble  superstructure  of  Indian 
civilization,  a  development  of  Indian  intellect  yet  unknown  to  us. 
It  is  no  matter  of  astonishment  that  the  Conquistadores  and  their 
descendants  should  have  exhibited  little  good  feeling  for  the  order 


550  EESULTS  OF  THEIR  EXPULSION. 

and  for  its  works,  for  tlie  interests  of  the  two  were  utterly  at  va- 
riance. One  was  a  sublimely  insurmountable  obstacle  to  the  self- 
ish designs  of  the  other,  for  we  know  that  the  Jesuits  invariably 
checked  the  merciless  cruelties  which  disgrace  the  early  annals  of 
Spanish  conquest. 

It  is  not  to  be  denied  that  the  Indians  in  entering  the  reduc- 
tions merely  underwent  a  change  of  masters,  but  it  was  a  change 
from  bondage  under  a  heartless,  unfeeling  Spaniard,  adventurer, 
and  gold-seeker,  to  a  mild  and  Christian  government.  On  the 
one  hand  it  was  a  life  dragged  out  in  beastly  drudgery ;  on  the 
other,  pious,  cheerful,  and  elevating. 

The  commandantes  worked  their  slaves  to  death;  the  Jesuits 
made  every  provision  that  could  render  their  neophytes  happy 
and  contented.  The  one  was  an  instrument  of  present  civilization 
and  future  enhghtenment ;  the  other  a  blight  upon  progress  and 
humanity.  Never  overtaxed  in  the  field,  and  even  there  enliven- 
ed by  strains  of  music,  with  every  want  supplied,  without  a  care, 
instructed  by  the  Jesuits  themselves,  admitted  to  the  "mysteries" 
of  the  Church,  taught  the  use  of  arms  and  the  art  of  war — whence 
else  could  they  have  obtained  all  this  but  from  the  energy,  sagaci- 
ty, self-denial,  and  unity  of  Loyola's  order  ?  It  was  this  very  civ- 
ilization that,  with  some  reason,  inspired  such  groundless  fears 
among  the  Spanish,  and  in  proportion  makes  the  Jesuit  mission- 
ary system  the  more  beautiful  and  the  more  to  be  admired.  The 
numerous  Guarani  tribes  would  have  long  since  been  on  the  verge 
of  extinction  but  for  the  establishment  of  these  missions ;  between 
the  cross-fires  of  Spaniards,  Portuguese,  and  Paulistas,  there  was 
eventually  but  little  hope  of  existence.  That  great  race,  of  which 
the  shadow  remains  to-day,  would  have  been  swept  from  the  earth 
centuries  ago.  The  lay  and  the  Jesuit  system  admit  of  no  ques- 
tion ;  and  even  under  that  of  the  Franciscan  friars,  wliich  fol- 
lowed, the  same  falling  off  in  population  and  general  receding 
from  their  former  advanced  state,  shows  most  conclusively  that 
the  Jesuit  order,  however  objectionable  in  the  centres  of  Euroj^ean 
civilization,  was  here  in  its  proper  element. 

On  the  retirement  of  the  fathers  the  missions  were  thrown  into 
the  most  irremediable  confusion ;  the  very  heart  and  soul  of  the 
Christian  republic  was  gone;  it  lay  like  a  dead  chaotic  mass. 
The  miserable  government  and  bad  administration  that  followed 
presents  only  differences  and  disputes  among  the  newly-vested 
authorities.     There  was  unity  in  nothmg.     The  spiritual  and 


FATE  OF  THE  MISSIONS.  551 

clerical  governor — for  there  was  now  a  very  broad  distinction — 
seldom  or  never  agreed.  All  their  purposes  clashed.  But  by 
mutual  consent  the  unfortiinate  natives  generally  bore  the  conse- 
quent burdens  of  their  quarrels.     Says  Doblas, 

"  The  curates  wanted  the  Indians  to  attend  mass  and  the  count- 
ing of  their  beads  every  day  at  whatever  hour  the  priests  might 
choose.  This  was  often  purposely  made  a  very  inconvenient  hour. 
Hereupon  the  laymen  interposed  to  prevent  compliance,  some- 
times with  reason  and  sometimes  without  it.  The  result  was  that 
the  curate  ordered  the  Indians  who  obeyed  the  administrator  to 
be  flogged,  and  the  administrator  awarded  stripes  to  those  who 
obeyed  the  curate.  Both  chastisements  fell  upon  the  miserable 
Indians,  without  farther  delinquency  on  their  part  than  that  of  not 
knowing  exactly  which  party  to  obey,  or  of  obeying  the  party  they 
liked  best."* 

Jesuit  harmony  and  discipline,  without  which  no  mission  could 
be  formed,  were  wanting.  The  Indian  fled  to  the  forest,  and  a 
fearful  consequence,  already  referred  to,  arose  from  this  present 
organization.  In  1801  a  census  of  the  Indian  population  was  made 
by  Don  Joaquim  de  Soria.  At  that  time  there  were  in  the  thirty 
missions  45,639  souls,  less  by  98,898  than  in  the  year  1767.  In 
this  space  of  thirty-four  years  more  than  two  thirds  of  the  original 
number  had  disappeared  ;  cattle,  sheep,  and  horses  were  destroy- 
ed ;  the  old  energies  of  the  Christian  republic  were  wasted  away, 
until  there  remained  scarcely  the  skeleton  of  those  flourishing  Jes- 
uit missions.  Here  and  there  a  spacious  but  crumbhng  church, 
with  fading  frescoes,  speaks  for  this  departed  wealth  and  civiliza- 
tion. 

*  Translated  by  Kobertson,  vol.  ii.,  p.  109 


552  SPANISH  COLONIAL  POLICY. 


CHAPTEE  XXXI. 

False  Policy  of  Spain  toward  the  Colonies. — Treaty  of  Utrecht. — Foundation  of 
Montevideo. — Contrabandists. — Treaty  of  1750. — Viceroyalty  of  Buenos  Ayres. 
— Treaty  of  St.  Ildefonso. — Final  Concessions  of  the  Mother  Country. — Expedi- 
tion nnder  Sir  Home  Popham. — Capture  of  Buenos  Ayres. — Assault  of  Monte- 
video.— Defeat  of  General  Whitelock. — Liniers. — Joseph  Bonaparte. — A  Portu- 
guese Pretender. — Cisneros. — Assembly  of  July  9th,  1816. — Independence  of 
Paraguay,  Bolivia,  and  Buenos  Ayres. — Disadvantages  the  South  American 
People  labored  under  for  forming  a  good  Government. — The  Banda  Oriental. — 
Urquiza. — Oribe. — Battle  of  Monte  Caseros. — Convention  at  St.  Nicolas. — 
Courtesy  extended  to  our  Minister. — Disaffection  of  Buenos  Ayres. — Siege  of 
that  City. 

The  policy  of  tlie  motlier  country  was  not  only  neglectful,  but 
absolutely  hostile  to  tbe  interests  of  La  Plata.  Fifty  years  after 
tlie  foundation  of  Buenos  Ayres  one  million  of  cattle  covered  tbe 
pampas ;  but  Spain  had  not  the  forecast  to  see  in  this  extraordi- 
nary multiplication,  in  the  fertility  of  a  soil  producing  with  the 
smallest  possible  labor  the  fruits,  cereals,  and  vegetables  of  tem- 
perate and  tropical  regions,  the  elements  of  a  greatness  that  would 
make  it  the  prize-jewel  of  her  crown,  and  the  seat  of  a  future 
trade  that  might  yield  larger  revenues  than  her  mines. 

The  merchants  of  Seville  and  Lima  obtained  the  monopoly  of 
the  trade  of  Peru,  and  through  their  influence  prohibitory  edicts 
were  issued  against  that  of  La  Plata,  lest  it  should  become,  as  Ca- 
bot hoped  and  foresaw,  the  most  popular  and  available  channel  of 
communication  between  Europe  and  the  colonies  of  the  South  and 
West.  In  vain  the  Buenos  Ayreans  appealed  to  the  home  gov- 
ernment. Their  only  concession  was  leave  to  export  annually  to 
the  Portuguese  settlements  of  Brazil  2000  fanegas  of  wheat,  500 
quintals  of  jerked  beef,  and  500  of  tallow;  to  which  in  1618  the 
the  farther  privilege  was  extended  of  sending  annually  to  Spain 
two  vessels  of  one  hundred  tons  burden  each,  freighted  with  the 
products  of  the  country.  At  the  instigation  of  the  merchants  of 
Seville,  a  custom-house  was  established  at  Cordova,  to  levy  fifty 
per  cent,  upon  all  goods  which  these  vessels  might  be  the  means 
of  introducing  into  the  country,  while  at  the  same  time  the  trans- 
mission of  the  precious  metals  by  this  route  was  entirely  inter- 
dicted. 


EESTRICTIONS  UPON  COMMERCE.  553 

For  nearly  a  century  after  tlie  settlement  of  Buenos  Ayres  all 
commercial  intercourse  with  Spanish  colonies  of  the  same  hemi- 
sphere was  forbidden  under  severe  penalties,  and  two  ships  repre- 
sented the  whole  legalized  trade  of  the  country  with  Europe.  It 
was  the  foimdation  of  a  vast  debt  of  grievances,  only  canceled  by 
the  movement  that  released  her  from  the  control  of  so  unnatural 
a  mother.  Though  jealously  guarding  what  she  considered  her 
interests  in  all  laws  for  the  government  of  the  colonies,  Spain 
seems  to  have  shown  but  little  sagacity  in  her  transactions  with 
foreign  powers.  She  permitted  both  the  Portuguese  and  English 
to  obtain  a  footing  in  La  Plata,  which  became  the  seat  of  an  enor- 
mous contraband  trade.  The  governor  in  vain  endeavored  to 
check  what  ministered  less  to  the  luxury  or  avarice  of  the  people 
than  to  their  necessities,  and  found  its  chief  strength  in  the  unjust 
policy  which  for  more  than  a  century  had  been  imposed  upon 
them. 

In  1715  the  treaty  of  Utrecht  secured  to  Portugal  the  settlement 
of  Colonia  del  Sacramento,  immediately  opposite  to  Buenos  Ayres. 
The  same  treaty  conceded  to  the  English  an  "  asiento"  or  contract 
to  supply  the  Spanish  colonies  of  America  with  slaves,  and  Bue- 
nos Ayres  was  one  of  the  points  at  which  she  was  allowed  to  form 
an  establishment :  here  they  were  to  send  four  ships  annually, 
with  twelve  hundred  negroes,  their  value  to  be  received  in  the 
products  of  the  country.  Both  parties  bound  themselves  not  to 
transgress  the  laws  which  forbade  the  introduction  of  European 
goods,  but  the  moral  force  of  these  stipulations  was  weakened  by 
the  injustice  of  the  mother  country  and  the  wants  of  the  Spanish 
Americans,  which  excused,  if  they  did  not  justify,  the  introduction 
of  articles  forbidden  them  by  more  legal  channels,  or  obtained  at 
the  ruinous  prices  fixed  upon  them  by  the  monopolists  of  Spain. 
So  boldly  was  illegal  trade  carried  on  that  vessels  constantly  ar- 
rived freighted  with  manufactured  goods,  that  supplied  not  only 
Buenos  Ayres,  Paraguay,  and  Tucuman,  but,  spite  of  the  vigilance 
of  Cordova  officials,  found  their  way  into  Peru,  where  they  were 
sold  at  lower  prices  than  those  sent  by  the  merchants  of  Seville 
via  Panama.  Both  Portuguese  and  English  were  equally  active, 
and  the  former  attempted  to  extend  their  possessions  by  a  new 
settlement  near  the  mouth  of  La  Plata.  From  this  they  were 
promptly  dislodged  by  Zavala,  Governor  of  Buenos  Ayres,  who 
immediately  commenced  the  foundation  of  San  FeHpe  Puerto  de 
Monte  Video.     Important  privileges  were  granted  to  the  first  set- 


554  VICEROYALTY  OF  BUENOS  AYRES. 

tiers,  wliicli  induced  immigration  ftom  tlie  Canaries  and  otlier 
places;  the  viceroy  sent  large  sums  from  Potosi,  the  Guarani 
Indians  worked  steadily,  and  Zavala  vainly  hoped  that  with  the 
erection  of  Montevideo,  and  Maldanado  on  the  same  shore  seventy 
miles  east,  he  had  permanently  checked  the  progress  of  Portuguese 
colonization.  Contrary  to  these  expectations,  they  became  more 
active  than  ever,  and  established  themselves  on  the  Eio  Grande, 
carrying  on  their  trade  with  such  spirit  that  it  is  said  to  have  been 
worth  to  them  two  millions  annually.  The  success  of  the  English 
was  yet  greater.  One  of  their  ships  about  this  time  sailed  from 
the  river  with  two  millions  in  specie  and  hides  valued  at  seventy 
thousand  dollars,  and  this  too  not  in  return  for  negroes,  but  a  rich 
cargo  of  European  goods. 

Such  was  the  condition  of  commercial  affairs  in  La  Plata  for 
nearly  a  quarter  of  a  century.  Spain  awakened  at  last  to  the  re- 
sult of  her  selfish  and  suicidal  policy,  and  attempted  to  check  the 
activity  of  the  contrabandists  by  her  guarda  costas,  which  led  to 
open  hostihties  with  England.  In  1750,  by  a  new  treaty,  Portu- 
gal agreed  to  cede  her  settlements  on  the  river  for  the  seven  mis- 
sionary towns  of  the  Uruguay.  The  poor  Indians,  happy  and 
prosperous  under  the  rule  of  the  Jesuits,  and  knowing  the  Portu- 
guese only  as  the  cruel  slave-hunters  who  had  driven  them  from 
their  homes  into  the  folds  of  these  shepherds,  revolted  with  hor- 
ror from  this  arrangement,  and  resisted  what  they  considered  a 
new  effort  to  enslave  them.  After  destroying  the  missions  and 
slaying  several  thousand  Indians,  the  Portuguese  refused  to  take 
possession  of  their  lands,  and  made  the  opposition  of  the  aborig- 
ines a  new  pretext  for  continuing  to  hold  Colonia. 

We  have  seen  that  this  resistance  on  the  part  of  the  Indians 
was  ascribed  to  the  influence  of  the  Jesuits.  From  that  time  their 
rule  was  doomed  in  La  Plata. 

The  impunity  with  which  contraband  trade  had  been  pursued, 
the  increased  insolence  and  continuous  aggressions  of  her  trouble- 
some neighbor,  left  Spain  the  alternative  of  a  more  generous  pol- 
icy or  the  ruin  and  perhaps  the  loss  of  her  colonies  in  this  region. 
She  determined  to  form  a  new  viceroyalty,  with  Buenos  Ayres  as 
the  capital.  It  was  to  comprise  the  province  of  the  same  name, 
Paraguay,  Cordova,  Salta,  Potosi,  Santa  Cruz  de  la  Sierra,  La  Paz, 
La  Plata,  Montevideo,  Moxos,  Chiquitos,  and  the  missions  of  the 
Uruguay  and  Parana.  A  formidable  force  of  ten  thousand  men, 
in  one  hundred  and  sixteen  vessels,  and  convoyed  by  twelve 


COMMERCIAL  CONCESSIONS.  555 

ships  of  war,  was  sent  out  to  sustain  tlie  autlioritj  of  tlie  new 
viceroy,  Don  Pedro  Cevallos,  a.  man  who  had  distinguished  him- 
self, while  Governor  of  Buenos  Ayres,  for  his  opposition  to  all  for- 
eign encroachment.  His  first  movement  was  against  St.  Cath- 
arine, which  surrendered  with  scarcely  a  show  of  resistance.  He 
next  sailed  up  La  Plata  to  Colonia ;  it  capitulated,  the  fortifica- 
tions were  destroyed,  and  the  Portuguese  driven  from  all  their 
settlements  on  the  eastern  shore  of  La  Plata. 

The  death  of  their  sovereign,  the  retirement  of  Pombal,  and 
the  accession  of  the  Princess  Maria,  who  earnestly  desired  peace, 
checked  these  hostilities,  and  the  treaty  of  St.  Ildefonso,  which 
finally  settled  all  questions  at  issue  between  the  two  governments, 
was  signed  in  the  autumn  of  1777.  By  its  stipulations  St.  Cath- 
erine was  restored  to  Portugal,  who  in  return  relinquished  all 
her  settlements  in  La  Plata,  and  commissioners  —  among  whom 
was  Azares — were  appointed  to  settle  definitely  their  respective 
boundaries. 

Spain  now  projected  important  commercial  concessions  to  the 
colonies.  Since'  1759  some  relaxations  had  been  made  from  the 
old  system,  and  in  1778,  through  the  influence  of  Don  Joseph  de 
Galvez,  at  that  time  minister  for  the  Indies,  a  new  code  was  pro- 
mulgated, known  as  the  "  Free  Trade  Eegulations."  This  title 
did  not  impose  upon  the  people,  who  saw  that  it  was  intended  less 
to  benefit  them  than  to  repair  the  injury  to  royal  interests,  which 
had  suffered  under  the  late  system  of  monopoly.  Manufactured 
goods  were  to  be  admitted  for  ten  years  free  of  duty,  and  in  return 
the  raw  products  of  La  Plata  could  enter  nine  ports  of  SjDain  ex- 
empt from  tariff;  but  the  trade  was  confined  to  Spaniards  and 
Spanish  ships,  and  not  only  the  manufacture,  but  the  culture  of 
all  articles  that  could  interfere  with  those  of  the  mother  country 
were  strictly  prohibited ;  even  the  vicuiia  wool  was  to  be  sent  to 
the  royal  factory  of  Guadalaxara.  There  was  yet  another  heavy 
grievance  :  Creoles,  or  natives  of  the  country,  were  perseveringly 
and  entirely  excluded  from  all  places  of  trust  and  responsibility. 

Spite  of  the  sordid,  shallow  policy  which  had  dictated  these 
new  laws,  they  were  an  advance  upon  the  old  system,  and  such 
commercial  activity  followed  their  promulgation  that  Buenos 
Ayres,  as  the  mart  of  La  Plata,  became  the  most  considerable 
city  of  Spanish  America.  So  great  was  the  tide  of  immigration 
into  the  country  that  in  eighteen  years  the  population  had  more 
than  doubled ;  and  the  export  of  hides,  the  great  staple,  increased 


556  BEITISH  EXPEDITION  TO  BUENOS  AYRES. 

from  150,009  annually  to  700,000  or  800,000,  and  in  1783  it 
reached  the  amount  of  1,400,000. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth  century  such  exaggerated 
reports  had  gone  abroad  of  the  disaffection  of  the  colonists  of  La 
Plata  to  the  Spanish  monarchy  as  to  induce  an  attempt  on  the 
part  of  the  English  to  obtain  possession  of  the  country.  In  June, 
1806,  Sir  Home  Popham  entered  the  river  with  a  squadron  of  five 
ships  of  war  and  several  transports,  having  on  board  a  detach- 
ment of  troops  under  the  command  of  Major-general  Beresford, 
who,  on  the  27th  of  the  same  month,  with  only  1630  men,  inclu- 
sive of  a  battalion  of  340  marines,  landed  and  advanced  upon  the 
city  of  Buenos  Ayres,  which  capitulated — the  viceroy,  Sobremonte, 
having  previously  retired  to  Cordova. 

This  success  excited  much  enthusiasm  in  England.  The  public 
treasure  taken  was  said  to  exceed  one  and  a  half  million  of  dol- 
lars. Peru  and  her  mines,  the  tropical  regions  of  Paraguay,  the 
pampas  of  Buenos  Ayres,  with  their  millions  of  cattle,  were  new 
fields  to  British  enterprise ;  in  short,  an  incredible  conquest  was 
achieved,  and  the  people  were  represented  as  satisfied  with  the 
change  of  rulers.  It  was  a  brief  triumph,  and  after-events  proved 
that  it  could  be  attributed  more  to  the  force  of  surprise  than  to 
inability  or  courage  on  the  part  of  the  Portenos  to  defend  their 
city.  The  people  of  the  country  rallied,  and,  led  by  Don  Santiago 
Liniers  de  Bremont,  regained  possession  of  their  capital  only  six 
weeks  after  the  entrance  of  Beresford,  who  was  in  turn  forced  to 
capitulate,  and,  at  the  close  of  the  year  1806,  the  village  of  Mal- 
danado  was  the  only  possession  of  the  English  in  La  Plata.  Re-en- 
forcements soon  after  arrived  under  the  command  of  Sir  Samuel 
Auchmuty,  who  invested  Montevideo,  which,  after  an  obstinate 
resistance,  was  carried  by  assault,  February  the  3d,  1807. 

An  attempt  made  the  same  year  by  General  Whitelock,  with 
11,000  men,  to  retake  Buenos  Ayres  was  a  complete  failure,  and 
issued  in  a  convention,  by  which  was  stipulated  the  entire  aban- 
donment of  La  Plata  in  less  than  two  months  by  the  whole  British 
force. 

After  General  Beresford's  attack,  the  colonists,  in  expectation  of 
its  being  repeated  by  a  larger  force,  had  earnestly,  but  in  vain, 
appealed  for  assistance  to  the  mother  country.  This  last  unaided 
defense  of  the  capital  against  an  army  officered  by  some  of  the 
best  men  in  the  British  service,  and  the  consequent  retirement  of 
the  invaders  from  the  waters  of  La  Plata,  first  awakened  them  to  a 


LOYALTY  TO  SPAIN.  557 

consciousness  of  their  own  strength,  and  impressed  a  lesson  of 
self-reliance  more  fatal  to  the  Spanish  empire  in  this  quarter  than 
the  armies  and  fleets  of  England. 

During  the  occupation  of  Spain  by  the  French  the  first  unmis- 
takable evidences  of  disaffection  were  shown  in  South  America, 
and  Buenos  Ayres  stands  prominently  in  the  foreground  of  revo- 
lutionary movement.  Three  centuries  of  oppression  under  a  crush- 
ing pohcy  antagonistic  to  all  their  interests  seemed  to  confer  on 
the  people  a  sacred  right  to  better  their  pohtical  condition.  After 
the  abdication  of  Charles  lY.,  and  at  the  commencement  of  the 
struggle  in  the  mother  country,  they  had  given  striking  proofs 
of  allegiance  to  their  royal  house.  In  1808  M.  de  Sastenay,  the 
agent  of  Napoleon,  was  sent  out  to  induce  them  to  swear  fealty  to 
Joseph  Bonaparte.  His  language  was  specious,  and  such  as  we 
might  suppose  he  would  address  to  a  people  prepared,  as  he 
thought,  by  a  long  political  thraldom,  to  submit,  with  the  hope 
of  bettering  their  condition,  to  a  change  of  rulers.  "  It  would  be 
better  for  them,"  he  said,  "to  follow  the  example  of  their  ances- 
tors in  the  succession  war,  and  await  the  fate  of  the  mother  coun- 
try— to  obey  that  authority  which  should  possess  itself  of  the  sov- 
ereign power."  What  was  their  reply  ?  The  French  envoy  was 
placed  under  arrest,  and  Ferdinand  VII.  proclaimed  successor  to 
Charles  IV.     The  same  year  another  claimant  appeared. 

This  was  the  Prince  Regent  of  Portugal,  who,  on  his  arrival  at 
Rio  Janeiro,  caused  a  note  to  be  addressed  to  the  Viceroy  and 
Cabildo  of  Buenos  Ayres  claiming  their  allegiance  upon  the 
grounds  of  the  alleged  dissolution  of  the  Spanish  monarchy,  and 
the  rights  accruing  to  his  wife,  the  Princess  Carlota,  from  the  ab- 
dication of  her  father,  Charles  IV.,  and  the  captivity  of  her  brother 
Ferdinand  VII.,  threatening  them,  in  the  event  of  refusal,  with 
hostilities  from  Portugal  aided  by  her  alhes,  the  English.  A  spir- 
ited answer  from  the  Cabildo  quieted  the  action  of  the  Portuguese 
pretender. 

Don  Santiago  de  Liniers  had  received  the  appointment  of  vice- 
roy in  reward  for  the  gallantry  with  which  he  had  headed  the  re- 
sistance to  English  invasion ;  but  he  was  a  Frenchman  by  birth, 
and,  in  the  present  excited  state  of  feeling  against  his  country,  this 
was  a  crime.  Accused  or  suspected  of  favoring  the  designs  of 
Bonaparte  became  the  excuse  for  demonstrations  against  his  au- 
thority. Elio,  Governor  of  Montevideo,  convoked  the  inhabitants 
of  the  city,  and  established  an  independent  junta.     The  Portenos, 


558  BEGINNING  OF  THE  KEVOLUTION. 

in  attempting  the  same,  were  promptly  put  down  by  Liniers,  who 
sent  their  leaders  to  Patagonia. 

After  the  abdication  of  the  king  the  Supreme  Junta  of  Seville 
recognized  the  colonies  of  Spain  as  "  integral  parts  of  the  mon- 
archy, with  the  same  privileges  as  the  states  of  the  Peninsula,"  and 
yet,  when  they  heard  of  the  demonstrations  against  Liniers,  they 
sent  Cisneros  (who  was  a  weak,  incompetent,  vacillating  individ- 
ual— at  best  unfit  for  the  of&ce),  without  permission,  to  make  good 
their  own  declaration,  and  without  money  or  troops  to  support 
his  authority.  He  found  the  people  with  an  enormous  accumula- 
tion of  produce,  and  clamorous  for  the  opening  of  their  ports  to 
foreign  trade.  Forced  to  accede  to  these  demands,  he  declared  at 
the  same  time  that  nothing  but  the  "most  urgent  necessity  could 
have  induced  him  to  adopt  a  measure  so  discountenanced  by  the 
laws  of  the  Indies."  Eeports  of  a  crisis  in  the  affairs  of  Spain 
reached  La  Plata.  Joseph  Bonaparte  was  sweeping  every  thing 
before  him ;  the  "  Supreme  Central  Junta"  was  dissolved,  and  re- 
placed by  a  regency  which  gave  little  evidence  of  stability  in  au- 
thority. The  power  from  which  Cisneros  had  received  his  ap- 
pointment was  no  longer  in  existence,  and  with  its  dissolution  the 
dissatisfied  colonists  saw  that  the  moment  for  the  initiation  of  a 
more  liberal  policy  had  arrived. 

The  viceroy  was  informed  that  the  order  of  government  was 
about  to  be  changed ;  the  Supreme  Court  of  Justice  and  the  munic- 
ipal authorities  received  the  same  announcement,  which  was  fol- 
lowed by  the  immediate  establishment  of  a  provisional  junta  in  the 
name  of  Ferdinand  YII.  Cisneros  was  even  forced  to  become  a 
member,  and  for  a  few  days  his  name  was  appended  to  all  orders 
issued  to  the  troops  and  provincial  towns  to  recognize  its  authority. 

I  have  before  alluded  to  one  of  the  greatest  grievances  of  the 
colonists,  the  monopoly  by  the  Spaniards  of  all  places  of  trust  or 
emolument,  which  created  so  strong  a  feeling  of  dislike  on  the 
part  of  the  Creole  or  native  population,  that,  according  to  Azara, 
it  divided  families,  and  even  estranged  husband  and  wife,  where 
both  were  not  of  Spanish  birth.  Some  of  the  iahabitants  at- 
tempted to  establish  this  influence  in  the  Junta  by  naming  Cis- 
neros its  president ;  a  movement  exciting  much  angry  feeling  on 
the  part  of  the  Creoles,  who  retaliated  by  arresting  the  viceroy  and 
his  adherents  and  sending  them  off  in  a  small  vessel  the  same 
night. 

Although  the  political  independence  of  the  North  American 


THE  CONGRESS  OF  TUCUMAN.  559 

colonies  had  been  completely  established,  and  the  question  of 
rights,  which  had  agitated  all  the  governments  of  Europe,  may 
have  found  an  echo  in  the  hearts  of  many  intelligent  Spanish 
Americans ;  though  the  enfeebled  condition  of  Spain  exhibited  but 
too  glaringly  the  decadence  of  her  political  power ;  the  action  of 
the  Provisional  Government,  even  so  late  as  1815,  in  sending 
plenipotentiaries  to  Europe  to  solicit  Charles  IV.  to  come  himself, 
or  send  his  son,  Don  Francisco  de  Paulo,  to  assume  the  sovereignty 
of  the  country,  shows  that,  though  all  were  sincere  in  the  desire  to 
ameliorate  their  condition,  there  was  a  diversity  of  opinion  as  to 
the  safest  means  of  attaining  this  end,  some  still  inclining  to  a  mon- 
archy, while  others  were  for  an  entirely  new  organization,  with  a 
free  system  as  basis.  They  were  only  a  unit  in  the  resolution 
never  to  submit  to  the  authority  of  Ferdinand  VII.,  whose  only 
reply  to  their  petitions  for  impartial  government,  after  all  the 
proofs  they  had  given  of  loyalty  to  his  person,  was,  upon  his  ele- 
vation to  the  throne,  to  call  them  rebels,  and  send  fresh  bodies  of 
troops  for  their  subjugation.  The  struggle  was  at  last  consum- 
mated by  the  assembling,  July  9th,  1816,  of  representatives  from 
all  the  provinces  at  Tucuman,  where  they  drew  up  a  declaration 
of  independence. 

Liberty  achieved — at  least  so  far  as  this  action  of  the  Congress 
at  Tucuman  could  make  it  so — the  sympathies  that  had  united 
the  different  sections  of  La  Plata  were  merged  into  local  interests, 
and  four  governments  were  formed  from  the  viceroyalty  of  Bue- 
nos Ayres — Paraguay,  Alto  Peru,  or  Bolivia,  the  Banda  Oriental, 
and  the  United  Provinces  of  La  Plata,  the  latter  composed  of  thir- 
teen states,  which,  again,  may  be  geographically  divided  into  three 
districts:  1st,  the  Riverine  Provinces  on  the  Parana;  Buenos 
Ayres  and  Santa  Fe  on  the  right  bank,  Entre  Rios  and  Corrien- 
tes  on  the  left ;  2d,  the  Upper  Provinces,  Cordova,  Santiago  del 
Estero,  Tucuman  and  Salta,  Jujuy,  Catamarca  and  La  Riojo; 
3d,  west  of  Buenos  Ayres  and  approaching  the  Cordillera  of  the 
Andes,  San  Luis,  Mendoza,  San  Juan,  and  Rioja,  which  had  been 
detached  from  the  government  of  Chili. 

Paraguay  was  the  first  province  to  assert  her  right  to  self-gov- 
ernment; indeed,  some  years  before  the  "declaration"  of  1816, 
she  was  not  only  free  from  the  authority  of  Spain,  but  had  de- 
clared her  independence  of  the  other  states  of  La  Plata.  Buenos 
Ayres  sent  an  army  under  the  command  of  Belgrano  to  assist  her 
people  in  throwing  off  the  Spanish  authority,  or  rather  to  compel 


560  POLITICAL  CONDITION. 

them  to  join  the  general  cause.  Yegros  and  Cavallero,  acting 
under  the  orders  of  Velasco,  the  last  Spanish  governor,  defeated 
Belgrano,  but  soon  after,  almost  without  a  struggle,  succeeded  in 
setting  aside  the  authority  of  the  governor  and  in  asserting  their 
complete  independence,  which  was  recognized  by  Buenos  Ayres 
as  early  as  1811. 

In  the  northwest  the  struggle  in  the  southern  hemisphere  was 
prolonged,  and  it  was  not  until  after  the  battle  of  Ayacucho 
that  Alto  Peru  was  wrested  from  Spain  and  established  into  an 
independent  government,  taking  its  present  name,  Bolivia,  from 
that  of  the  hero  of  the  Revolution,  Bolivar. 

I  considered  an  outline  sketch  of  the  settlement  and  history  of 
a  country  so  little  known  as  La  Plata  a  necessary  introduction  to 
my  narrative ;  but  to  penetrate  the  confusion  of  her  political  sys- 
tems since  the  estabhshment  of  the  republics  would  be  a  task  of 
time  and  difficulty  for  which  I  am  wholly  unprepared. 

Her  unaided  resistance  of  English  invasion,  the  reception  of 
M.  de  Sastenfiy,  and  the  spirited  reply  of  the  Cabildo  of  Buenos 
Ayres  to  the  pretensions  of  the  Prince  Regent  of  Portugal,  a 
complete  emancipation  from  Spain  and  freedom  up  to  this  time 
from  any  foreign  influence  which  could  affect  permanently  her 
political  or  territorial  integrity,  show  at  least  a  physical  capacity 
for  independent  government.  Again :  unanimity  of  action  in  the 
first  step  of  the  crisis  is  the  best  evidence  of  the  sincerity  of  the 
people  in  a  struggle  to  improve  their  condition,  though  for  many 
years  there  were  elements  of  discordance  and  diversity  of  opinion 
as  to  the  best  means  of  attainiag  the  desired  end,  that  totally 
checked  all  social  or  political  organizations.  Pretenders  to  thrones, 
royal  scions  of  the  houses  of  Braganza,  Orleans,  Bourbon,  were 
quite  ready  to  establish  dynasties  upon  that  part  of  the  American 
continent,  and  all  may  have  found  favorists  among  the  perplexed 
revolutionists,  for  few  really  understood  the  first  principles  of 
civil  liberty.  The  policy  of  Spain  and  the  wide-awake  spirit  of 
the  Inquisition  had  secluded  them  from  a  knowledge  of  the  work- 
ing of  other  systems  ;  their  moral  energies  had  been  corrupted  ; 
they  were  profoundly  ignorant  of  political  economy ;  there  were 
no  national  materials,  no  previous  struggles  for  enfranchisement ; 
there  was  nothing  in  the  traditions  of  the  past ;  in  the  colonial 
system,  not  one  principle  of  civil  administration  as  a  model  or 
basis  on  which  to  construct  a  new  fabric.  It  was  a  great  ship 
afloat  without  rudder  or  compass.     One  of  their  own  writers  thus 


ANAKCHY  AND  CIVIL  WARS.  561 

alludes  to  tlie  men  who  considered  a  monarchy  expedient:  "With 
them  that  notion  did  not  originate  in  an  intimate  conviction  ;  far 
otherwise.  On  the  one  hand,  it  arose  from  the  want  of  individual 
capacity  to  prosecute  the  Eevolution  to  its  close,  and  after  that  to 
present  the  country  with  a  stable  and  enlightened  organization ; 
and  on  the  other,  it  was  occasioned  by  the  discomfort,  or,  if  you 
prefer  the  term,  the  vexation  which  the  tardy  progress  of  the  Eev- 
olution brouglrt  upon  them."* 

Ten  years  after  the  first  cry  of  liberty  was  heard  in  Buenos 
Ayres,  Spain  could  no  longer  degrade  the  United  Provinces  of 
La  Plata  by  her  enactments ;  but  the  swords  that  had  repelled 
foreign  invasion  and  avenged  pohtical  wrongs  became  fratricidal. 
The  provinces  acknowledged  for  a  time  the  governments  succes- 
sively established  at  Buenos  Ayres,  based  upon  a  system  of  cen- 
tralization, which  gave  the  executive,  who  was  to  reside  at  that 
city,  extensive  civil  and  military  jurisdiction,  even  to  the  appoint- 
ment of  governors  for  the  provinces.  But  an  opposition  showed 
itself  in  a  large  party  favoring  a  federation.  The  capital  was  in- 
vaded and  the  government  or  central  party  accused  of  aiming  to 
establish  a  monarchy  under  the  protection  of  France,  with  the 
young  Duke  of  Lucca  as  its  head  ;  a  charge  followed  by  the  pub- 
lication of  the  correspondence  of  Don  Valentine  Gromez,  their 
agent  at  Paris,  containing  the  particulars  of  a  scheme  to  that  ef- 
fect which  had  been  proposed  by  the  French  ministry.  The  dis- 
location was  general,  v  What  was  before  considered  a  nation  sub- 
divided itself  into  many  independent  states,  each  declaring  its 
own  independence.  Province  rose  against  province ;  cities,  vil- 
lages, famihes,  individuals  warred  against  each  other.  In  the 
struggle  the  darkness  of  anarchy  settled  upon  the  new  rCpubhc. 

At  last,  in  the  first  months  of  1821,  some  light  appeared  in 
the  re-establishment  and  consolidation  "of  order  in  Buenos  Ayres. 
Leaving  the  interior  provinces  to  the  control  of  their  own  leaders, 
{he  Portenos  proceeded  to  form  an  independent  government.  In 
this  effort  they  adopted  a  wise  principle  of  action  :  "  that  all  the- 
ory should  be  proscribed  in  the  organization  of  a  country,  and  its 
demonstration  left  to  practice."  By  the  stipulations  of  commer- 
cial treaties  she,  in  this  phase  of  her  political  existence,  sought  and 
obtained  the  support  of  foreign  powers. 

The  interior  provinces  gained  no  strength  by  isolation.  Their 
history  presents  nothing  but  a  chronicle  of  desolating  strifes,  fac- 

*  Nunez. 

36 


562  ■    THE  STATES  OF  LA  PLATA. 

tions,  endless  intrigues  of  military  chieftains  and  political  aspir- 
ants, aiming  at  much,  effecting  nothing.  It  has  been  until  very 
recently  the  struggle  of  a  brave  people,  dreaming  of  free  institu- 
tions, but  grasping  in  the  dark  for  their  prosperity.  It  is  true, 
the  theory  of  liberty  has  found  able  advocates,  who,  in  the  elegant 
diction  of  the  Spanish  language,  have  with  eloquence  and  fire  ex- 
patiated upon  its  blessings  in  their  legislative  assemblies.  Some 
of  their  military  chiefs  have  fh)wn  genius,  fertilfty  of  resource, 
and  personal  courage  ;  but  generally,  in  the  history  of  their  prom- 
inent men,  we  seek  in  vain  for  the  patient,  self-sacrificing  spirit  of 
the  heroes  of  North  American  independence.    • 

Sir  "Woodbine  Parrish,  who  witnessed  the  progress  of  their  po- 
litical history  for  nearly  a  quarter  of  a  century,  says,  in  speaking 
of  the  interior  provinces,  "  Without  any  defined  league  or  general 
engagement  among  themselves,  even  to  guarantee  the  integrity  of 
the  republic,  or  any  thing  like  a  Congress  or  representative  body 
to  watch  over  their  common  interests  since  the  dissolution  of  that 
in  1827,  they  have  been  obliged  to  delegate  to  the  executive  gov- 
ernment of  Buenos  Ayres,  the  sole  and  entire  charge  of  their  na- 
tional concerns,  their  defense  in  war,  the  maintainance  of  their 
foreign  relations,  the  management  of  the  public  debt,  and  of  all 
matters  of  common  interest  to  the  republic  at  large,  a  trust  which, 
in  virtue  of  the  unlimited  power  conferred  upon  Greneral  Kosas, 
the  present  Governor  of  Buenos  Ayres,  has  become,  de  facto,  vested, 
with  all  its  duties  and  responsibilities,  in  one  single  individual,  a 
strange  ending  of  a  struggle  for  Federalism." 

Bohvia,  an  inland  state,  from  her  geographical  position,  as  well 
as  from  the  disturbances  of  political  factions,  has  been  deprived  of 
all  stimulus  to  commercial  enterprise.  Paraguay  ended  her  strug- 
gle for  civil  liberty  by  submitting,  in  less  than  five  years,  to  the 
dictatorship  of  Francia.  The  Banda  Oriental,  erected  into  an  in- 
dependent state  in  1828,  has  been  depopulated  and  desolated  by 
civil  contests,  foreign  occupation,  and  interference  brought  upon 
her  by  the  intemperate  conduct  of  her  own  chiefs. 

I  forbear  to  pursue  the  domestic  or  foreign  policy  of  Kosas,  a 
policy  in  contradiction  to  all  theory  or  practice  of  constitutional 
government.  But  there  was  a  spirit  of  intelligence  in  the  country 
he  governed,  dormant  but  not  annihilated ;  a  leader  of  ability  and 
integrity  was  alone  needed  to  give  it  activity.  This  individual 
appeared  in  the  person  of  Justo  J.  Urquiza,  Governor  of  Entre 
Rios  and  Corrientes,  a  man  of  admitted  military  genius,  and  known 


EOSAS  AND  URQUIZA.  553 

at  one  time  as  an  able  supporter  of  Rosas,  but  wbo,  at  last,  disgusted 
with  his  administration  and  moved  by  noble  and  enlightened 
views  for  the  future  of  "  La  Plata,"  raised  the  standard  of  opposi- 
tion. The  Governor  of  Buenos  Ayres  was  in  the  habit  of  resign- 
ing his  authority  at  stated  periods,  upon  the  score  of  broken  health 
or  age,  relying,  and  for  a  long  time  with  success,  upon  his  knowl- 
edge of  and  influence  over  the  members  of  the  assembly,  none  of 
whom  dared  accept  the  proffered  resignation.  They  generally 
urged  his  retention  of  office  with  adulatory  expressions  which 
were  duly  pubhshed  and  sent  forth  to  foreign  powers  as  expres- 
sive of  the  public  voice.  On  one  of  these  occasions,  Urquiza,  by 
proclamation,  released  Rosas  from  executive  responsibilities,  and 
placed  himself  at  the  head  of  a  party  favoring  the  opening  of  the 
rivers  of  La  Plata  to  commerce,  and  the  union  of  the  states  com- 
posing the  "  United  Provinces  of  La  Plata"  into  a  confederation. 

The  rivers  which  have  their  rise  in  the  northwestern  provinces 
of  Brazil  give  access  from  the  Atlantic  to  a  large  and  valuable 
part  of  her  territories.  Their  free  navigation  is  essential  to  her 
interests,  and  to  obtain  this  concession  from  Rosas  she  had  in  vain 
exhausted  the  arts  of  diplomacy.  The  traditional  antagonism  of 
Spaniard  and  Portuguese  was  now  merged  in  the  policy  of  union 
for  the  purpose  of  opening  the  Parana,  Paraguay,  and  Uruguay, 
with  their  tributaries,  to  the  commerce  of  the  world.  Urquiza 
found  a  powerful  ally  in  Brazil. 

Their  first  combined  movement  was  against  Oribe,  who  had, 
with  troops  partly  furnished  by  Rosas,  held  Montevideo  in  a 
state  of  siege  until  a  town,  "Restoracion,"  of  eight  or  ten  thou- 
sand inhabitants  had  actually  grown  up  around  his  encampment. 
But  for  the  interference  of  England  and  France,  who  recognized 
an'd  supported  the  inside  party,  the  city  would  have  fallen  into 
his  hands.  A  considerable  body  of  Entre  Rians  and  Corrientinos, 
under  the  command  of  Urquiza,  a  Brazilian  squadron  in  the 
river,  and  a  force  of  infantry  and  artillery  under  Baron  Caxias,  at 
last  brought  Oribe  to  terms,  almost  without  striking  a  blow. 
Consummate  address  marked  the  conduct  of  Urquiza.  He  pro- 
claimed, on  entering  the  country,  a  desire  to  avoid  the  shedding 
of  blood.  His  mission,  he  announced,  was  patriotic.  Thousands 
joined  his  standard.  Deserted  by  whole  detachments  of  troops, 
with  but  a  hmited  supply  of  provisions,  and  cut  off  from  both  the 
resources  of  the  interior  and  river  by  the  allied  army  and  Brazil- 
ian squadron,  Oribe  surrendered  unconditionally. 


564  SUCCESS  OF  URQUIZA. 

Thus,  after  a  siege  of  nine  years,  tlie  relief  of  Montevideo  was 
accomplislied,  and  Urquiza  withdrew  to  his  own  province  only  to 
prepare  for  a  more  direct  blow  at  the  power  of  Eosas.  In  Janu- 
ary, 1852,  he  recrossed  the  Parana  at  the  head  of  a  large  force, 
and  without  encountering  opposition  reached  Monte  Caseros,  with- 
in fifteen  miles  of  Buenos  Ayres,  where  he  was  met  by  the  Dicta- 
tor at  the  head  of  an  army  of  twenty  thousand  men.  The  great 
battle  of  the  3d  of  February,  1852,  ended  in  the  total  defeat  and 
flight  of  Eosas,  and  secured  the  future  independence  of  the  Argen- 
tine States. 

The  Dictator  sought  and  obtained  the  protection  of  an  English 
man-of-war  in  the  "  Eoads ;"  Urquiza,  at  the  head  of  a  large  body 
of  cavalry,  infantry,  and  artillery,  made  a  triumphal  entry  into  the 
city,  established  his  head-quarters  at  Palermo,  and  appointed  Don 
Vincente  Lopez,  a  man  advanced  in  years,  but  greatly  beloved  and 
respected  for  his  intelligence  and  amiability.  Governor  of  Buenos 
Ayres. 

On  the  first  of  May  Urquiza  was  named  "  Provisional  Directoi," 
and  the  25th  of  the  same  month  the  governors  and  delegates  of 
fourteen  provinces  assembled  at  St.  Nicolas  for  the  purpose  of 
forming  a  government.  As  a  manifestation  of  respect  for  the 
United  States,  General  Urquiza  invited  our  representative,  the 
Honorable  John  Pendleton  of  Virginia,  to  accompany  him  to  San 
Nicolas,  where  on  the  1st  of  June  the  delegates  from  the  Argen- 
tine States  agreed  upon  the  terms  of  a  provisional  administration, 
and  a  Congress  to  convene  at  an  early  day  and  form  a  constitution 
for  a  permanent  federal  government.  A  copy  of  the  proceedings 
of  this  convention  was  put  into  the  hands  of  Mr.  Pendleton  upon 
the  day  of  their  passage,  by  the  order  of  General  Urquiza,  that  he 
might  send  it  by  dispatch  to  Buenos  Ayres,  so  as  to  arrive  before 
the  departure  of  the  British  mail-packet.  The  messenger  was  au- 
thorized to  say  that  no  other  government  had  been  thus  favored, 
and  that  it  was  the  desire  of  the  Provisional  Director  to  signify  by 
this  act  a  special  consideration  for  the  United  States  of  America. 

On  the  14th  of  June  General  Urquiza  returned  to  Buenos  Ayres, 
to  find  the  city  in  turmoil  and  confusion,  arising  from  the  disaffec- 
tion of  the  members  of  the  Provisional  Assembly  (the  "  Sala"). 
Grave  exceptions  were  taken  to  the  proceedings  of  the  Provision- 
al Congress  at  San  Nicolas,  and  among  them  the  most  prominent 
was,  that  too  much  power  had  been  conferred  by  it  upon  the  Pro- 
visional Director.    Don  Vincente  Lopez,  who  had  represented  the 


DISAFFECTION  AT  BUENOS  AYRES.  565 

Province  of  Buenos  Ayres,  appeared  before  tlie  Sala,  and  attempt- 
ed to  defend  his  course,  but  lie  was  hooted  at  and  hissed.  He  re- 
signed his  position  as  governor  of  the  city,  and  poHtical  affairs  as- 
sumed rather  a  gloomy  aspect.  Either  a  new  convention  must  be 
called  to  revise  the  proceedings  of  the  Provisional  Congress,  for 
the  pacification  of  the  Sala,  or  its  disaffection  must  be  arrested ; 
in  other  words,  either  the  thirteen  provinces  must  be  governed  ac- 
cording to  their  own  provisions  or  by  those  of  the  Sala  at  Buenos 
Ayres. 

General  Urquiza  was  not  the  man  to  deliberate  long  as  to  which 
of  the  two  courses  he  should  adopt.  The  Sala,  without  soldiers 
or  money,  and  an  enraged  populace  at  its  back,  adjourned  in  con- 
fusion, and  the  Provisional  Director,  with  the  strong  arm  of  the 
military  to  sustain  him,  restored  order  by  banishing  five  leading 
members,  and  reappointing  Vincente  Lopez  governor.  He  then 
withdrew  the  forces  from  the  city,  dispatched  them  to  the  various 
provinces  from  which  they  came,  leaving  only  the  military  of  the 
Province  of  Buenos  Ayres  to  defend  their  own  capital,  and  retired 
on  the  8th  of  September  to  Santa  Fe,  where  the  convention 
charged  to  prepare  a  constitution  for  the  Confederation  had  met 
August  the  20th.  This  Congress  was  composed  of  two  delegates 
from  each  of  the  thirteen  provinces,  Entre  Eios,  Corrientes,  Santa 
Fe,  Cordova,  Mendoza,  Santiago  del  Estero,  Tucuman,  Salta,  Jujuy, 
Catamarca,  Rioja,  San  Luis,  and  San  Juan. 

Many  exiles  who  had  joined  Urquiza  for  the  purpose  of  putting 
down  Rosas,  but  without  any  intention  of  elevating  the  former  to 
the  same  position,  now  took  advantage  of  the  withdrawal  of  the 
troops  to  conspire  against  his  authority,  and,  being  natives  of  Bue- 
nos Ayres,  drew  to  their  side  a  number  of  the  people  and  soldiers  of 
the  province.  Their  opportunities  to  create  a  revolution  were  am- 
ple, and  their  plans  and  designs  well  conceived  and  ably  executed. 
It  broke  out  on  the  11th  of  September,  and  General  Galan,  at  the 
time  acting  as  governor  by  appointment  of  the  Provisional  Direc- 
tor, retired  with  such  of  the  troops  as  remained  faithfiil.  The  in- 
surgents made  a  pretended  pursuit,  but  neither  fight  nor  skirmish 
ensued,  and  the  "  Director,"  informed  by  rapid  expresses  of  the 
events  that  had  occurred,  marched  without  delay  at  the  head  of 
such  troops  as  were  at  Santa  F<^,  and  joined  General  Galan  at  San 
Nicolas. 

His  first  impulse  was  to  advance  against  Buenos  Ayres,  but  of 
this  he  thought  .better,  and,  issuing  a  proclamation,  in  which  he 


566  SIEGE  OF  BUENOS  AYRES. 

announced  his  determination  to  leave  that  city  to  its  own  course, 
he  returned  to  Parana  to  await  the  action  of  the  Congress. 

The  ruhng  spirits  of  the  Eevolution  were  not  content  to  be  let 
alone,  or  quietly  remain  the  citizens  of  an  independent  state. 
They  wished  to  break  up  the  Confederation  by  sowing  broadcast 
the  seeds  of  discord  in  the  western  provinces.  Faihng  in  this, 
they  dispatched  the  best  part  of  the  force  at  their  disposal  under 
the  command  of  Generals  Madariaga  and  Honos  to  invade  Entre 
Eios.  Urquiza  assembled  a  large  body  of  troops,  and  led  them  in 
person  to  meet  the  invaders,  who  were  defeated  and  driven  from 
the  province. 

Here,  then,  collecting  an  army  of  twelve  thousand  men  from 
the  different  states,  he  marched  once  more  against  Buenos  Ayres, 
and,  in  conjunction  with  General  Largos  and  a  small  naval  force 
consisting  of  three  steamers,  a  brig,  a  three-masted  schooner,  and 
several  smaller  vessels,  besieged  and  blockaded  the  city  and  har- 
bor. Such  was  the  condition  of  political  affairs  in  La  Plata  when 
the  Water  Witch  arrived  at  Buenos  Ayres. 


APPENDIX. 


APPENDIX  A  (Page  (26). 

INSTRUCTIONS  FROM  HON.  JOHN  P.  KENNEDY,  SECRETARY  OF  THE  NAVY,  TO 
THOMAS  J.  PAGE,  LIEUTENANT  COMMANDING. 

By  a  decree  of  the  Provisional  Director  of  the  Argentine  Confederation,  the 
long-sealed  and  excluded  country  lying  upon  the  ti'ibutaries  of  the  Rio  de  la  Plata 
has  been  thrown  open  to  navigation,  and  the  Uruguay  and  Parana  have  become 
accessible  to  all  nations  who  may  choose  to  seek  the  new  associations  which  they 
offer  to  the  spirit  of  adventure. 

The  importance,  in  a  commercial  point  of  view,  which  is  attached  to  this  new 
field  of  operations  has  invited  the  enterprise  of  our  country  as  well  as  of  other  na- 
tions ;  and,  with  a  view  to  gratify  and  please  the  emulous  ambition  of  the  nation, 
and  to  secure  the  great  advantages  of  its  trade,  the  President  has  directed  a  small 
steamer  to  be  dispatched  to  the  La  Plata  for  the  purpose  of  exploration  and  survey 
of  the  upper  streams  above  their  falls,  and  to  which  seiwice  you  have  been  assigned 
in  command  of  the  United  States  steamer  "Water  Witch." 

The  principal  objects  to  which  your  attention  is  directed  are  to  explore  the  rivers 
Plata,  Paraguay,  and  Parana,  and  all  their  tributaries  worthy  of  exploration ;  to 
determine  the  practicability  of  navigating  them,  their  course,  extent,  productions  in 
fish,  etc. ;  to  examine  not  only  the  country  bordering  on  the  rivers,  but  also,  to  some 
extent,  the  interior  beyond  the  water-courses,  so  as  to  acquire  correct  information 
touching  the  nature  and  extent  of  agriculture,  and,  consequently,  the  probable  ex- 
tent to  which  commercial  intercourse  may  be  desirable ;  to  make  collections  for  the 
advancement  of  knowledge  in  natural  history,  botany,  mineralogy,  and  other  de- 
partments of  natural  science ;  to  make  astronomical,  meteorological,  and  magnetic 
obsei-vations  ;  to  determine  latitude  and  longitude,  and  to  make  a  series  of  sketches 
in  Daguerrean  and  camera  impressions  illustrative  of  the  scenery,  Indians,  and  ge- 
ological formations  of  the  country. 

Although  the  primary  objects  of  the  expedition  are  the  promotion  of  the  great  in- 
terests of  commerce  and  navigation,  yet  you  will  take  all  occasions,  not  incompati- 
ble with  the  great  pm-pose  of  the  undertaking,  to  extend  the  bounds  of  science,  and 
promote  the  acquisition  of  knowledge. 

No  special  directions  are  thought  necessary  in  regard  to  the  mode  of  conducting 
the  researches  and  experiments  which  you  are  enjoined  to  prosecute,  nor  is  it  in- 
tended to  limit  the  officers  who  accompany  you  each  to  a  particular  sphere ;  aU  are 
expected  to  co-operate  harmoniously  in  all  the  details  of  the  expedition. 

You  will  adopt  the  most  elFective  measures  within  your  control  to  prepare  and 
preserve  all  specimens  of  natural  history  that  may  be  collected,  and,  as  opportuni- 
ties offer,  send  them  to  the  United  States  to  be  delivered  to  the  Secretary  of  the 
Navy,  in  order  that  they  may  be  lodged  for  safe  keeping  at  the  Smithsonian  Insti- 
tution. You  will  also  avail  yourself  of  such  occasions  to  forward  copies  of  charts, 
details  of  your  doings,  duplicates  of  specimens,  or  any  other  materials  you  may  deem 
it  important  to  preserve  from  the  reach  of  future  accident,  at  the  same  time  strictly 


568  APPENDIX  A.  • 

prohibiting  all  communications,  except  to  the  Department,  from  any  person  under 
your  cominand  referring  to  any  circumstances  connected  with  the  progress  of  the 
enterprise. 

Among  savage  nations,  unacquainted  with  or  possessing  but  vague  ideas  of  the 
right  of  property,  the  most  common  cause  of  collision  with  civilized  visitors  is  the 
offense  and  punishment  of  theft.  You  will  therefore  adopt  every  possible  precau- 
tion against  this  practice,  and  in  the  recovery  of  stolen  property,  as  well  as  in  pun- 
ishing the  offense,  use  all  due  moderation  and  forbearance. 

You  will  permit  no  trade  to  be  carried  on  by  any  under  your  command  with  the 
countries  you  may  visit,  either  civilized  or  savage,  except  for  necessaries  or  curiosities, 
and  that  under  express  regulations  to  be  established  by  yourself,  in  which  the  rights 
of  the  natives  must  be  scrupulously  respected  and  carefully  guarded. 

You  will  neither  interfere,  nor  permit  any  wanton  interference,  with  the  customs, 
habits,  manners,  or  prejudices  of  the  natives  of  such  countries  as  you  may  visit,  nor 
take  part  in  their  disputes  except  as  a  mediator,  nor  commit  any  act  of  hostility  un- 
less in  self-defense,  or  to  protect  or  rescue  the  property  of  those  under  you,  or  those 
whom  circumstances  may  place  within  reach  of  your  protection. 

You  will  carefully  inculcate  on  all  who  accompany  you  that  courtesy  and  kindness 
toward  the  natives  which  is  understood  and  felt  by  all  classes  of  mankind ;  to  dis- 
play neither  arrogance  nor  contempt,  and  to  appeal  to  their  good-will  rather  than 
to  their  fears,  until  it  becomes  manifest  that  they  can  only  be  restrained  from  vio- 
lence from  fear  or  force. 

You  will  on  all  occasions  avoid  risking  the  officers  and  men  unnecessarily  on  shore 
at  the  mercy  of  the  natives.  Treachery  is  one  of  the  invariable  characteristics  of 
savages,  and  very  many  of  the  fatal  disasters  which  have  befallen  the  navigator  and 
explorer  have  arisen  from  too  great  reliance  in  savage  professions  of  friendship,  or 
overweening  confidence  in  themselves. 

It  is  the  nature  of  the  savage  to  remember  benefits,  and  never  to  forgive  injuries ; 
you  will  therefore  use  your  best  endeavors,  wherever  you  may  go,  to  leave  behind  a 
favorable  impression  of  your  country  and  countrymen. 

The  expedition  is  not  for  conquest,  but  discovery. 

Its  objects  are  all  peaceful ;  they  are  to  extend  the  empire  of  commerce  and  of 
science,  in  which  all  enlightened  nations  are  equally  interested,  and  we  have  a  right 
to  expect  the  good-will  and  good  offices  of  the  whole  civilized  world. 

You  will  bear  in  mind  that  though  you  may  be  carried  beyond  the  sphere  of  so- 
cial life  and  the  restraint  of  law,  yet  the  obligations  of  justice  and  humanity  are  al- 
ways and  every  where  equally  imperative,  in  your  intercourse  with  men,  and  most 
especially  savages ;  that  we  seek  them,  not  they  us  ;  and  that,  if  we  expect  to  derive 
advantages  from  the  intercourse,  we  should  endeavor  to  confer  benefits  in  return. 

You  will  carefully  refrain  from  the  exercise  of  undue  prejudice  or  partiality  to- 
ward any  under  your  command. 

An  observance  of  strict  impartiality  toward  all  will  best  promote  the  harmony  and 
efficiency  of  the  expedition. 

On  entering  any  harbor,  or  meeting  with  any  public  vessel  bearing  the  flag  of  a 
nation  in  amity  with  the  United  States,  you  will  be  careful  to  obsei've  the  usual 
courtesies.  You  will  enjoin  all  under  your  command  to  abstain  from  violating  the 
commercial  or  municipal  laws  or  regulations  of  the  places  they  may  visit,  and  to 
a"oid,  as  far  as  possible,  giving  any  the  least  ground  of  complaint.  The  policy  of 
the  United  Sates  is  avowedly  pacific,  and,  while  studious  to  maintain  the  honor  and 
guard  the  interests  of  their  country,  it  is  the  duty  of  its  officers  to  abstain  from  vio- 
lating the  laws  or  rights  of  other  nations,  and,  by  conciliating  the  good-will  and  fa- 


APPENDIX  B.  569 

vorable  opinion  of  the  people  they  may  visit  in  the  course  of  the  cruise,  to  strengthen 
the  bond  of  commercial  intercfturse,  and  increase  the  disposition  to  more  intimate 
relations. 

Should  any  violation  of  the  persons  or  property  of  American  citizens  be  commit- 
ted or  attempted,  you  will  seek  reparation  or  restitution  by  persuasive  yet  firm 
measures  ;  and  you  will  not  resort  to  force  unless  in  the  last  extremity,  and  when 
no  doubt  can  exist  that  right  and  justice  are  on  your  side. 

The  maintenance  of  discipline  is  an  object  requiring  your  unwearied  solicitude. 
The  character  of  our  country  is  only  known  and  judged  by  remote  and  savage  tribes, 
and  even  by  semi-civilized  nations,  by  the  personal  deportment  of  its  ofScers,  who 
are,  to  a  certain  extent,  its  representatives.  The  high  standard  which  is  within 
their  reach,  and  should  be  the  aim  of  every  one,  is  the  best  calculated  to  command 
respect  and  confidence  from  all  with  whom  intercoui-se  is  held. 

All  officers  are  enjoined  by  law,  by  regulation,  and  by  regard  to  their  own  honor 
to  maintain,  in  all  respects,  a  correct  deportment  toward  superiors,  inferiors,  and 
equals.  A  general  obsei'vance  of  this  salutary  rule  will  render  each  one  more  happy 
in  his  own  person,  more  zealous  in  the  discharge  of  his  duty,  and  more  useful  to  the 
service  of  which  he  is  a  member. 

You  will  not  allow  any  under  your  command,  if  you  can  prevent  it,  to  incm'  debts 
and  leave  them  unpaid  in  any  port  or  place  they  may  visit. 

If  any  be  heedless  of  this  order,  you  will  report  the  circumstance  to  the  Depart- 
ment. 

It  is  hoped  and  believed  that  every  officer  associated  with  you  will  zealously  co- 
operate with  you  in  preserving  the  strictest  discipline. 

In  conducting  the  exploration  intrusted  to  you  it  may  be  found  necessary  to  call 
to  your  aid  means  which  can  not  be  provided  for  in  a  small  steamer  of  the  capacity 
of  the  "  Water  "Witch, "  such  as  horses,  mules,  and  other  resom-ces  for  the  transport- 
ation of  small  parties  for  shore  operations,  you  are  therefore  authorized  to  employ 
aU  such  means  as  you  may  deem  essential  to  accomplish  the  objects  of  the  expedi- 
tion, keeping  in  view  at  all  times  the  security  and  safety  of  your  ofScers,  crew,  and 
vessel,  and  a  rigid  economy  in  your  expenditures. 

You  will  communicate  your  proceedings  at  regular  intervals  direct  to  the  Depart- 
ment, forwarding  a  duplicate  of  each  letter  by  the  earliest  opportunity  to  be  found 
after  the  original  shall  have  been  transmitted. 

*  *  *  *  You  will  report  by  letter  to  the  Commander  of  the  United  States  Squad- 
ron on  the  coast  of  Brazil,  as  a  part  of  his  command,  but  assigned  to  special  duty 
under  the  orders  of  the  Department,  with  which  he  will  not  interfere  except  under 
the  most  imperative  circumstances,  and  he  will  be  instructed  to  furnish  such  aid  and 
facilities  as  you  may  require  in  conducting  the  exploration. 


APPENDIX   B   (Page  29). 

CORRESPONDENCE  OF  MESSRS.  SCHENCK  AND  TROUSDALE  IN  RELATION  TO  THE 

EXPLORATION  OF  THE  PARAGUAY. 

This  and  the  following  letter  are  introduced  to  show  the  grounds  on  which  their 
author  advocated  the  application  for  permission  to  explore  the  Brazilian  waters  : 

Mr.  Sclienck  to  Senor  de  Souza. 

Legation  of  the  United  States,  Rio  de  Janeiro,  August  20, 1853. 
The   imdersigned.  Envoy  Extraordinary  and   Minister  Plenipotentiary  of  the 
United  States,  desires  to  recall  the  attention  of  His  Excellency  Paulino  Jose  Soares 


570  APPENDIX  B. 

de  Soiiza,  of  the  Council  of  His  Majesty  the  Emperor,  Minister  and  Secretary  of 
State  for  Foreign  Affairs,  to  an  application  which  was  made  to  the  imperial  gov- 
ernment a  few  months  ago. 

On  the  26th  of  April  last,  in  the  absence  of  the  ttndersigned,  a  note  was  addressed 
to  his  Excellency  by  Mr.  Coxe,  the  Secretaiy  of  this  Legation,  inclosing  a  copy  of 
a  letter  from  Lieutenant  Thomas  J.  Page,  of  the  United  States  Navy,  commanding 
the  United  States  steamer  "Water  Witch,"  a  vessel  which  had  just  then  arrived  in 
this  port  on  her  way  to  survey  the  River  Plate  and  its  various  tributaries.  The  ob- 
ject was  to  obtain  the  friendly  co-operation  of  the  imperial  government  in  aid  of 
that  expedition,  by  orders  to  the  authorities  of  those  of  her  provinces  in  which  are 
any  of  the  navigable  waters  of  the  rivers  to  be  explored. 

In  reply  to  this  note,  on  the  Ith  of  May,  his  Excellency  was  pleased  to  say  that 
the  imperial  government,  having  opened  to  foreign  commerce,  in  the  River  Para- 
guay, the  port  of  Albuquerque,  would  make  no  objection  to  Lieutenant  Page  carry- 
ing his  explorations  to  that  point,  but  would  send  the  necessary  orders  to  the  Pres- 
ident of  the  Province  of  Matto  Grosso,  and  to  other  imperial  agents,  that  they  might 
give  him  all  the  co-operation  in  their  power ;  but  that  the  imperial  government,  not 
having  yet  opened  to  foreign  nations  other  ports  above  Albuquerque,  and  not  having 
yet  agreed  as  to  the  navigation  of  those  rivers  with  other  riverine  states,  could  not 
permit  foreign  vessels  to  enter  them,  and  thus  establish  an  example  and  precedent 
which  might  be  prejudicial  to  the  empire,  the  right  of  navigation  of  those  rivers  not 
having  been  settled. 

This  correspondence  was  immediately  communicated  to  the  commander  of  the 
expedition,  who  had  already  proceeded  to  the  River  Plate ;  and  the  answer  of  the 
imperial  government  and  the  license  thus  accorded  are  duly  appreciated. 

But  the  undersigned,  being  then  upon  the  eve  of  going  himself  on  his  special  mis- 
sion to  the  La  Platine  States,  had  little  opportunity  to  advert  to  the  limitations  and 
qualifications  of  tlie  permission  expressed. 

On  reflection  since  and  now,  the  undersigned  has  believed  it  proper  to  state  to  his 
Excellency  that  the  limited  privilege,  conceded  in  answer  to  the  request,  is  not  as 
liberal  as  the  United  States  and  their  agents  had  a  right  to  expect  from  a  govern- 
ment as  enlightened  as  this.  It  can  scarcely  be  that  the  restriction  as  to  the  point 
to  which  the  imperial  government  is  willing,  on  its  part,  that  tbe  "Water  Witch" 
should  ascend  the  River  Paraguay,  and  the  refusal  altogether  to  permit  her  to  en- 
ter other  rivers,  would  be  insisted  on  if  the  nature  and  objects  of  the  expedition  were 
fully  understood  and  considered. 

Otherwise  the  undersigned  is  unable  to  comprehend  why  such  an  enterprise,  pure- 
ly national  in  its  character,  projected  for  a  simple  and  peculiar  purpose,  and  that 
purpose  the  advancement  of  science,  should  have  been  put  upon  a  footing  with  in- 
dividual commercial  pursuits,  and  subjected  to  reasoning  that  can  apply  only  to  ordi- 
nai7  voyages.  Nothing  is  proposed  which  could  be  regarded  as  an  example  or  prec- 
edent for  the  voyage  of  a  merchant  or  trading  ship,  or  even  of  a  vessel  of  war  only. 

To  remove  any  possible  misapprehension,  however,  the  undersigned  will  now  re- 
peat that  the  "Water  Witch"  has  been  commissioned  and  fitted  out  expressly  for 
an  exploration  and  careful  survey  of  the  River  Plate  and  its  tributaries ;  that  the 
officers  and  crew  have  been  selected  and  detailed  with  a  view  to  that  specific  and 
only  duty ;  and  that,  in  short,  the  object  is  one  purely  scientific,  looking  to  the  ex- 
amination of  all  that  may  be  interesting  in  the  productions  and  capabilities  of  the 
countries  bordering  upon  their  waters ;  and  also,  and  more  particularly,  to  an  accu- 
rate sounding  of  the  channels  to  ascertain  their  fitness  for  navigation  by  steam-boats 
and  other  vessels. 


APPENDIX  B.  571 

And  as  the  history  and  results  of  this  exploration  and  survey — the  descriptions 
and  charts  which  may  be  produced — will  be  made  public  to  the  world,  for  the  com- 
mon information  of  all,  surely  not  the  least  interest  and  benefit  may  be  expected  to 
accrue  to  those  governments  and  their  inhabitants  who  have  possessions  through 
which  the  ditferent  rivers  flow.  No  questions  of  rights  of  navigation  or  transit  can 
possibly  be  involved  in  this  work. 

But  the  undersigned  will  not  argue  the  subject  farther.  If,  with  this  simple  ex- 
planation repeated,  the  expedition  thus  sent  out  by  the  United  States  does  not  at 
once  commend  itself  to  the  good  wishes  and  favor  of  Brazil  to  the  fullest  extent,  but 
if,  on  the  contrary,  she  interposes  objections  to  its  objects  being  pursued  in  any  case 
above  a  certain  point  on  one  of  the  rivers,  becatise  she  has  opened  nothing  beyond 
that  or  elsewhere  on  the  streams  within  her  jurisdiction  to  foreign  commerce,  he 
can  only  regret  that  he  must  report  so  unexpected  a  disposition  of  the  imperial  gov- 
ernment to  his  government  at  liome,  who  will  not  fail  to  contrast  it  with  the  prompt, 
cordial,  and  unrestricted  encouragement  and  aid  which  have  been  extended  to  the 
enterprise  by  the  other  states  and  territories  having  possessions  on  the  different  riv- 
ers in  question. 

In  the  confidence  that,  upon  a  reconsideration  of  this  subject,  a  farther  and  more 
favorable  and  liberal  answer  to  the  application  will  be  made  by  his  Excellency,  the 
undersigned  avails  himself  of  the  occasion  to  renew  to  his  Excellency  the  assurances 
of  his  high  respect  and  distinguished  consideration.  Eobekt  C.  Schenck. 

To  His  Excellency  Paulino  Jose  Scares  de  Souza. 

Mr.  Schenck  to  Senor  de  Abreo. 

Legation  of  the  United  States,  Rio  de  Janeiro,  September  21, 1S53. 

The  undersigned.  Envoy  Extraordinaiy  and  Minister  Plenipotentiary  of  the  United 
States,  has  the  honor  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  note  No.  28,  dated  the  16th  in- 
stant, from  his  Excellency  Antonio  Paulino  Limpo  de  Abreo,  of  the  Council  of  His 
Majesty  the  Emperor,  Minister  and  Secretary  of  State  for  Foreign  Affairs,  in  reply 
to  that  which  was  addressed  by  the  undersigned  to  the  predecessor  of  his  Excellency 
on  the  20th  of  August  last,  in  relation  to  the  scientific  and  exploring  expedition  sent 
by  the  government  of  the  United  States,  under  the  command  of  Lieixtenant  Page, 
into  the  waters  of  the  River  La  Plata  and  its  tributaries. 

The  undersigned  regrets  to  learn  from  his  Excellency  that  the  imperial  govern- 
ment persists  in  its  determination  not  to  consent  that  the  steamer  "Water  Witch," 
commissioned  for  this  survey,  shall  be  permitted  to  ascend  any  of  the  rivers  within 
the  territory  and  jurisdiction  of  Brazil,  except  the  River  Paraguay,  and  that  river 
only  as  far  as  the  port  of  Albuquerque. 

This  resolution  of  the  imperial  government  appearing  to  be  decided  and  final,  the 
undersigned  does  not  propose  to  repeat  or  enlarge  farther  upon  the  reasons  and  sug- 
gestions which  he  has  before  presented  for  consideration,  and  which  he  supposed 
might  have  elicited  a  different  answer.  He  will  content  himself  with  communicat- 
ing to  the  President  of  the  United  States  an  account  of  the  application  which  it  has 
been  his  duty  to  make  to  the  national  authorities  of  Brazil,  and  the  want  of  success 
which  has  attended  that  application.  The  sovereignty  of  Brazil  must,  of  course,  be 
fully  recognized ;  and  any  rule  that  she  may  think  proper  to  establish  will  be  re- 
spectfully observed  by  the  United  States,  in  regard  to  that  portion  of  any  river  which, 
having  its  sources  within  her  territory,  flows  entirely  within  her  jurisdiction. 

And  the  undersigned  would  not  now  deem  it  necessary  to  extend  the  correspond- 
ence on  this  subject,  or  to  reply  to  the  note  of  his  Excellency,  but  for  the  farther  re- 
marks of  his  Excellency  which  accompany  the  communication  of  this  decision. 


572  APPENDIX  B. 

His  Excellency  observes  that  the  undersigned  is  perfectly  aware  that,  above  the 
port  of  Albuquerque,  there  is  no  other  in  the  River  Paraguay  which  has  been  opened 
by  the  imperial  government  to  foreign  commerce.  That  from  this  arrangement  it 
results,  as  is  obvious,  that  to  no  foreign  vessel  can  the  river  be  accessible  above  that 
port.  That  this  was  a  principle  established  in  very  clear  and  express  terms  by  de- 
cree of  the  imperial  government.  No.  1140,  on  the  11th  of  April  of  this  year.  And 
that  the  argument,  therefore,  that  the  "Water  Witch,"  of  which  Lieutenant  Page 
is  commander,  has  for  its  sole  object  to  explore  the  River  Paraguay  and  its  tribu- 
taries, can  not  avail,  in  the  opinion  of  the  imperial  government,  to  change  in  favor 
of  that  vessel  the  general  principle  which  that  decree  established,  and  which  would 
be  abandoned  by  the  ascent  of  the  "Water  Witch"  beyond  the  port  of  Albuquerque. 
Admitting  the  premises,  the  undersigned  can  not  yet  assent  to  the  conclusion  ar- 
rived at  by  this  reasoning.  It  seems  to  him  a  non  sequitur  that  the  exclusion  of  "  for- 
eign commerce"  should  shut  out  from  the  privilege  of  a  higher  ascent  of  the  river  a 
national  vessel,  engaged  in  no  commercial  pursuit  or  enterprise  whatever,  but  sent 
by  a  friendly  power  upon  the  peaceful  and  disinterested  errand  of  scientific  explo- 
ration and  survey.  But  the  undersigned  recognizes  the  full  right  of  the  imperial 
government  to  give  inteipretation  to  its  own  decrees,  and  is  only  led  into  this  com- 
ment on  the  position  taken,  because  his  Excellency  has  seemed,  from  the  form  of  ex- 
pression used,  to  appeal  to  the  undersigned  to  admit  the  justice  and  the  logic  of  the 
proposition,  which  the  undersigned  is  unable  to  do. 

His  Excellency  informs  the  undersigned,  however,  that  the  resolution  of  the  im- 
'  perial  government  does  not  prevent  such  explorations  as  the  commandant  of  the 
steamer  may  be  instructed  to  make  in  the  River  Paraguay  and  its  tributaries  above 
the  port  indicated,  but  that  for  this  purpose  he  can  employ  boats  of  the  country, 
which  he  will  easily  find  there.  And  it  is  added,  that  there  are  reasons  for  sup- 
posing that  these  boats  will  be  the  best  adapted  for  the  ascent  of  the  River  Paraguay 
beyond  Albuquerque,  which  will  perhaps  not  be  practicable  for  the  "Water  Witch." 

The  undersigned  duly  appreciates  this  explanation  of  the  action  and  views  of  the 
imperial  government,  and  thanks  his  Excellency  for  the  suggestion  as  to  the  man- 
ner in  which  the  objects  of  the  expedition  may  be  accomplished  above  the  point  in 
question.  His  Excellency's  note  will  be  communicated  to  Lieutenant  Page,  who  is 
charged  with  the  service,  and  that  officer  will  exercise  his  discretion,  under  such  in- 
structions as  he  may  receive  from  the  government  at  Washington,  in  regard  to  pur- 
suing the  survey  in  the  way  proposed  to  him.  At  present,  and  perhaps  for  the  next 
year  or  two,  the  surveying  and  mapping  of  the  lower  parts  of  the  Parana  and  Para- 
guay, and  of  the  Rivers  Pilcomayo  and  Vermejo,  will  sufficiently  occupy  his  atten- 
tion. It  is  not  probable,  however,  that  he  will  at  any  time  avail  himself  of  a  per- 
mission, on  the  Paraguay,  to  employ  the  boats  of  the  country  as  recommended ;  for 
the  undersigned  begs  leave  to  state  that  the  government  of  the  United  States  has 
not  sent  out  such  an  expedition  without  providing  all  the  necessary  means  for  its 
prosecution.  Lieutenant  Page  has  with  him  not  only  all  the  boats  that  would  be 
ordinarily  supplied  for  carrying  out  properly  the  examinations  and  surveys  to  be 
made,  but  has  been  furnished  also  with  the  boilers,  engine,  and  machinery  for  the 
construction  of  a  small  steamer,  with  a  draught  of  only  a  foot  or  fourteen  inches,  by 
means  of  which  those  waters  and  channels  may  be  sufficiently  explored  and  meas- 
ured which  may  be  found  too  shallow  to  admit  a  vessel  as  large  as  the  "Water 
Witch."  This  small  auxiliary  steam-boat  Lieutenant  Page  is  now  about  building 
and  putting  together,  it  is  understood,  at  Assumpcion,  in  Paraguay.  As  to  the  doubt 
expressed  whether  the  "Water  Witch"  herself  could  ascend  above  Albuquerque,  the 
undersigned  must  be  permitted  to  remark  that  that  is  a  question  to  be  detei-mined 


APPENDIX  B.  573 

only  by  one  of  those  practical  experiments  which  are  among  the  objects  of  the  ex- 
pedition. 

The  undersigned  appreciates  and  has  pleasure  in  acknowledging  the  expression 
of  the  sentiments  of  friendly  consideration  which  are  entertained  by  the  imperial 
government  toward  the  government  of  the  United  States,  and  the  assurances  that 
orders  shall  be  repeated  that  the  commandant  of  the  "  Water  Witch"  may  not  fail 
of  any  co-operation  or  aid  which  he  may  need  for  the  accomplishment  and  happy 
issue  of  the  duty  intrusted  to  him.  The  undersigned,  in  behalf  of  his  government, 
sincerely  reciprocates  these  friendly  sentiments ;  and  avails  himself  of  the  occasion 
to  renew  to  his  Excellency  the  assurances  of  his  perfect  esteem  and  distinguished 
consideration.  Robert  C.  Schenck. 

Mr.  Trousdale  to  Lieutenant  Page. 

Legation  of  the  United  States,  Rio  de  Janeiro,  August  8th,  1854. 
Lieut.  Thomas  Jefferson  Page,  Commanding  U.  S.  Steamer  "  Water  Witch." 

Sir, — I  received  your  communication,  without  date,  through  Robert  G.  Scott, 
Junior,  Esq.,  Acting  Consul  of  the  United  States  at  this  port,  on  the  1st  of  July 
last,  and  on  the  3d  of  that  month  I  addressed  a  note  to  the  Secretary  of  Foreign 
Relations  of  the  Government  of  Brazil,  inviting  the  attention  of  his  Excellency  to 
the  correspondence  of  my  predecessor,  the  Hon.  Robert  C.  Schenck,  with  the  Sec- 
retary of  Foreign  Relations  on  the  subject  of  the  exploration  of  the  tributaries  of  the 
Rio  de  la  Plata,  and  asking  again  the  sanction  and  co-operation  of  the  imperial 
government  to  the  expedition  of  the  "Water  Witch,"  and  the  privilege  of  ascend- 
ing the  River  Paraguay  to  the  head  of  navigation. 

I  am  now  in  possession  of  the  answer  of  the  imperial  government  to  that  note,  as 
furnished  through  the  Secretary  of  Foreign  Relations,  from  which  it  appears  that, 
on  more  mature  reflection,  the  imperial  government  has  granted  the  privilege  asked 
for,  of  exploring  the  River  Paraguay  to  the  head  of  navigation,  and  has  given  in- 
structions to  the  President  of  the  Province  of  Matto  Grosso,  and  the  other  agents 
of  the  government  in  that  quarter,  to  facilitate  the  expedition  to  the  full  accomplish- 
ment of  the  original  design ;  herewith  inclosed  you  will  find  copies  of  my  notes  to 
the  Secretary  of  Foreign  Relations,  and  of  his  answers,  marked  A*,  B*,  C,  D^. 

I  am,  sir,  very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant,  W.  Tkousdale. 

Inclosures. 
A».  Mr.  Trousdale  to  Foreign  Office,  July  3d,  1854. 
B«.  Foreign  Office  to  Mr.  Trousdale,  August  2d,  18r>4. 
C*.  Mr.  Trousdale  to  Foreign  Office,  August  4th,  1854. 
D^  Foreign  Office  to  Mr.  Trousdale,  August  7th,  1854. 

3Ir.  Trousdale  to  Senor  de  Ahreo. 

Legation  of  the  United  States,  Eio  de  Janeiro,  3d  July,  1854. 
The  undersigned.  Envoy  Extraordinary  and  Minister  Plenipotentiary  of  the 
United  States,  has  the  honor  to  inform  his  Excellency  Antonio  Paulino  Limpo  de 
Abreo,  of  the  Council  of  his  Majesty  the  Emperor,  Minister  and  Secretary  of  State 
for  Foreign  Affairs,  that  it  has  become  his  duty  to  invite  the  attention  of  the  govern- 
ment of  Brazil  to  the  subject  of  the  exploration  of  the  tributaries  of  the  Rio  de  la 
Plata,  and  to  bring  the  question  of  the  privilege  of  ascending  the  River  Paraguay 
to  the  head  of  navigation  again  to  the  notice  of  the  same,  and  to  solicit  once  more 
the  approbation  and  co-operation  of  the  imperial  government  to  that  enterjjrise. 
This  subject  has  been  ably  presented  by  my  predecessor  in  repeated  communications 


574:  APPENDIX  B. 

to  the  government  of  Brazil,  to  which  the  attention  of  his  Excellency  is  particularly 
invited ;  the  undersigned  deems  it  useless  at  present  to  attempt  farther  argument 
on  the  subject. 

It  will  be  remembered  that  the  expedition  on  which  the  "Water  Witch"  has  been 
ordered  by  the  President  of  the  United  States  has  purely  for  its  object  the  advance- 
ment of  commerce  and  promotion  of  science ;  and  the  enteqirising  commander  of 
fhe  "Water  Witch,"  Captain  Thomas  Jefferson  Page,  having  advanced  as  far,  in 
the  discharge  of  his  arduous  duties,  into  the  territory  of  Brazil  as  that  government 
has  consented  to  co-operate  with  said  exploration,  it  now  becomes  necessary  to  ask 
the  Brazilian  government  to  co-operate  with  this  enterprise  to  its  consummation, 
by  at  least  extending  the  facilities  heretofore  given  to  the  termination  of  the  navi- 
gation of  the  Paraguay. 

The  undersigned  hopes  for  an  answer  at  an  early  day,  and  renews  to  his  Excel- 
lency the  assurances  of  his  high  esteem  and  distinguished  consideration. 

(Signed)  W.  Trousdale. 

To  his  Excellency  Antonio  Paulino  Limpo  de  Abreo,  etc.,  etc.,  etc. 

Legation  of  the  United  States,  Eio  de  Janeiro,  4th  August,  1854. 

The  undersigned.  Envoy  Extraordinary  and  Minister  Plenipotentiary  of  the 
United  States,  presents  his  compliments  to  his  Excellency  Antonio  Paulino  Limpo 
de  Abreo,  of  the  Council  of  his  Majesty  the  Emperor,  Minister  and  Secretary  of 
State  for  Foreign  Affairs,  and  has  the  honor  to  acknowledge  receipt  of  his  Excel- 
lency's communication  of  the  2d  instant,  which  contains  the  information  that  his 
Majesty  the  Emperor  and  the  government  of  Brazil,  to  whom  the  note  of  the  under- 
signed of  the  3d  ultimo  had  been  presented,  which  asks  the  privilege  for  the  United 
States  steamer  "Water  Witch"  to  explore  the  River  Paraguay  to  the  head  of  navi- 
gation, and  to  obtain  the  sanction  and  co-operation  of  the  government  of  Brazil  to 
the  full  accomplishment  of  the  original  design  of  that  expedition,  had  consented  to 
the  objects  asked  for  in  said  note,  on  the  condition  that  the  undersigned  should  re- 
ply to  the  communication  of  his  Excellency  of  the  2d  instant,  confirming  the  state- 
ments made  by  the  Hon.  Robert  C.  Schenck,  in  his  notes  to  the  Secretary  of  State 
for  Foreign  Affairs  of  the  government  of  Brazil,  on  the  subject  of  the  exploration  by 
the  steamer  "Water  Witch"  of  the  tributaries  of  the  Rio  de  la  Plata, 

The  undersigned  will  here  state  that  he  has  not  been  furnished  with  a  copy  of 
the  instructions  given  by  the  President  of  the  United  States  to  Lieutenant  Thomas 
Jefferson  Page,  commanding  the  United  States  steamer  "Water  Witch,"  in  rela- 
tion to  the  exploration  of  the  tributaries  of  the  Rio  de  la  Plata ;  all  the  information 
the  undersigned  has  on  that  subject  is  obtained  from  the  statements  of  others  :  The 
letter  of  Lieutenant  Thomas  Jefferson  Page  to  Ferdinand  Coxe,  Esq.,  Secretary  of 
Legation  of  the  United  States  at  the  Court  of  Brazil,  of  the  26th  April,  1853,  in 
which  he  states  the  expedition  has  purely  for  its  object  the  advancement  of  com- 
merce and  the  promotion  of  science ;  Mr.  Coxe,  in  his  note  of  the  same  date,  26th 
April,  1853,  to  the  Secretary  of  Foreign  Affairs,  speaking  of  Lieutenant  Page,  says: 
"This  officer  has  been  ordered  by  the  President  of  the  United  States  upon  the  highly 
interesting  and  important  duty  of  exploring  and  surveying  all  the  rivers  running  into 
the  La  Plata,  and  it  is  not  doubted  that  the  results  of  the  expedition  will  be  of  the 
highest  importance  to  the  commercial  and  scientific  world."  It  will  be  seen  that 
Mr.  Schenck,  in  his  communication  to  the  Secretary  of  Foreign  Affairs,  of  the  20th 
August,  1853,  uses  this  language :  "  Otherwise  the  undersigned  is  unable  to  compre- 
hend why  such  an  expedition,  purely  national  in  its  character,  projected  for  a  sim- 
ple and  peculiar  purpose,  and  that  purpose  for  the  advancement  of  science,  should 


APPENDIX  C.  575 

have  been  put  qn  a  footing  with  individual  commercial  pursuits,  and  subjected  to 
reasoning  that  can  apply  only  to  ordinary  vessels;"  and,  again,  Mr.  Schenck,  in 
his  note  to  the  Secretary  of  Foreign  Affairs,  of  the  7th  October,  1853,  speaking  of 
the  action  of  the  government  of  Brazil,  says  :  ."  She  will  therefore  not  consent  that 
the  steamer  '  Water  Witch, '  sent  by  the  United  States  on  a  purely  scientific  expe- 
dition, shall  ascend  above  that  point;"  and,  again.  Lieutenant  Thomas  Jefferson 
Page,  in  a  late  communication  to  the  undersigned,  speaking  of  the  refusal  of  the 
Imperial  government  to  permit  him  to  explore  the  tributaries  of  the  Rio  de  la  Plata, 
says:  "  It  can  not  be  the  fixed,  determined  object  of  the  government  to  arrest  an 
expedition  having  for  its  object  solely  the  promotion  oi  science." 

From  the  foregoing  statements  the  undersigned  feels  authorized  to  say  that  the 
object  of  the  expedition  of  the  "Water  Witch"  in  the  tributaries  of  the  Rio  de  la 
Plata  is  intended  to  promote  the  cause  of  science,  and  should  not  be  construed  into 
a  precedent  for  vessels  of  either  war  or  commerce  to  navigate  those  streams. 

The  government  of  the  United  States  will  duly  appreciate  this  act  of  kindness 
and  friendship  toward  it  by  the  government  of  Brazil,  and  it  will  doubtless  strength- 
en the  cords  of  friendship  which  now  bind  together  those  governments. 

The  undersigned  hopes  for  a  speedy  consummation  of  this  matter,  and  avails  him- 
self of  this  opportunity  to  renew  to  his  Excellency  assurances  of  his  high  esteem  and 
distinguished  consideration.  (Signed)  W.  Tkousdai.e. 

To  hia  Excellency  Antonio  Paulino  Limpo  de  Abreo,  etc.,  etc.,  etc. 


APPENDIX  C   (Page  59). 

FROM  THE  DISPATCHES  OF  MR.  ROBERT  C.  SCHENCK,  UNITED  STATES  MINISTER 
TO  BRAZIL,  ON  THE  POLITICAL  EVENTS  THAT  TOOK  PLACE  AT  THE  TIME  OF 
GENERAL  URQUIZA'S  ABANDONMENT  OF  THE  SIEGE  OF  BUENOS  AYRES. 

By  my  last  dispatch  you  were  informed  that  I  had  returned  here,  bringing  the 
two  treaties  which  Mi-.  Pendleton  and  I  have  had  the  good  fortune  to  conclude  with 
the  Argentine  Confederation.  I  send  them  now,  with  other  original  papers,  as 
follows : 

1st.  The  Treaty  of  San  Jose  de  Flores,  for  the  free  navigation  of  the  rivers  Pa- 
rana and  Uruguay,  made  July  10th,  1853 ;  accompanying  which  is  a  Notice  of  the 
Ratification  of  the  same,  on  the  12th  of  July,  by  General  Justo  Jose  de  Urquiza,  the 
Provisional  Director. 

2d.  The  Treaty  of  Friendship,  Commerce,  and  Navigation,  made  at  San  Jose, 
July  27th,  1853;  accompanied  by  the  Certificate  of  Powers  of  the  Plenipotentiaries 
of  the  Confederation  of  the  same  date ;  and  the  Notice  of  Ratification  by  the  Pro- 
visional Director,  on  the  30th  of  July. 

In  the  case  of  the  Treaty  of  San  Jose'  de  Flores,  there  was  but  one  general  power 
given  to  the  Argentine  plenipotentiaries,  authorizing  them  to  treat  alike  with  the 
United  States,  Great  Britain,  and  France ;  and  as  there  could  not  be  an  exchange 
with  each,  the  original  was  left  in  custody  of  the  French  plenipotentiary. 

It  would  not  be  necessary  to  add  much  to  what  has  already  been  reported  to  you 
of  the  circumstances  attending  oui-  negotiations  and  the  signing  of  these  treaties. 

On  my  arrival  at  Buenos  Ayres,  on  the  21st  May  last,  I  found  the  city  in  a  state 
of  close  siege  and  blockade.  The  conferences  between  the  two  belligerent  parties, 
which  were  initiated  and  conducted  under  the  auspices  and  mediation  of  the  minis- 
ters of  Brazil  and  Bolivia,  had  been  broken  off;  and  I  was  accordingly  disappoint- 
ed in  my  expectation  of  finding  peace,  and  with  it  the  government  of  the  Confed- 
eration established  and  prepared  to  treat.     For  two  months  the  prospect  of  making 


576  APPENDIX  C. 

my  mission  effective  seemed  to  be  no  better;  and,  at  the  close  of, June,  I  bad  de- 
termined and  was  prepared  to  return  to  my  post  here,  abandoning  for  the  present 
all  idea  of  a  treaty,  general  or  special,  and  leaving  farther  negotiations  on  the  part 
of  our  government  to  a  more  promising  time,  and  to  whomsoever  might  be  hereafter 
appointed  to  the  duty. 

But  just  at  that  contingency  I  obtained  such  reliable  information  of  a  crisis  at 
hand  as  induced  me  to  change  my  purpose,  and  I  resolved  to  remain  another  month. 
I  became  satisfied  that  in  the  new  aspect  of  affairs  would  be  found  the  first  and  best 
opportunity  that  was  likely  to  present  itself  for  concluding  treaty  stipulations,  which 
should  not  only  embrace,  as  far  as  the  United  States  were  concerned,  the  general 
provisions  for  reciprocal  commerce  and  friendship,  but  that  with  these,  or  in  advance 
of  these,  might  be  obtained  the  great  object  of  the  special  missions  of  England  and 
France,  as  well  as  what  we  sought  ourselves — security  for  the  free  navigation  of  the 
rivers.  To  this  latter  object  particularly,  in  conjunction  with  the  British  and  French 
ministers,  we  first  applied  ourselves,  and  the  result  is  the  treaty  of  the  10th  of  July. 

So  far  as  the  Argentine  Confederation  is  concerned,  or  has  jurisdiction  in  the 
rivers  La  Plata,  Parana,  and  Uruguay,  not  only  the  principle,  but  the  fact  is  now 
fixed  and  perpetual. 

A  free  passage  for  the  commerce  of  all  the  world  on  those  waters  will  no  longer 
depend  on  laws  or  decrees,  which  may  be  repealed,  or  even  on  a  constitutional  pro- 
vision, which  may  be  changed,  but  is  safe  hencefo'rth  under  the  solemn  guarantees 
of  international  contract. 

A  similar  treaty  precisely  in  all  its  terms  was  signed  on  the  same  day  by  the  pleni- 
potentiaries of  Great  Britain  and  France. 

Mr.  Pendleton  has  already  given  you  an  account  of  the  base  and  treacherous 
transfer  of  the  blockading  squadron  of  the  Confederation  by  Coe,  their  chief  naval 
commander;  tke  disastrous  influence  that  that  surrender  had  upon  the  besieging 
army,  and  other  particulars  of  the  cotirse  of  events,  which  led  General  Urquiza  to  de- 
termine finally  to  abandon  all  farther  forcible  measures  toward  Buenos  Ayres.  It 
is  sufiicient,  with  reference  to  our  diplomatic  duties  and  services  in  the  midst  of 
these  occurrences,  to  state  that  we  had  to  go  back  and  through  the  lines  of  the  bel- 
ligerent parties,  with  such  degree  of  safe-conduct  as  their  passes  and  escorts  could 
secure  to  us,  seeking  actively  and  discreetly  as  we  could  to  provide  for  the  interests 
we  had  in  charge,  and  not  always,  perhaps,  without  exposure  to  some  little  peril. 
It  was,  in  truth,  a  duty  somewhat  anomalous,  and  in  proportion  exciting,  for  a  ci- 
vilian to  be  engaged  in. 

The  mediation  which  was  undertaken  by  Sir  Charles  Hotham,  the  Chevalier  St. 
Georges,  and  myself,  at  the  instance  of  both  parties,  has  been  also  explained  to  you ; 
and  its  abrupt  conclusion,  the  final  breaking  up  of  the  siege,  the  retiring  of  Urquiza 
with  the  troops  of  the  Confederation,  and  the  dispersion  of  the  outside  chiefs  of 
Buenos  Ayres. 

General  Urquiza,  as  Provisional  Director,  with  approval  of  the  Constituent  Con- 
gress, took  at  length  the  course  which  should  have  been,  I  think,  his  policy,  and  the 
policy  of  the  Thirteen  Provinces,  from  the  beginning — that  was  to  leave  Buenos 
Ayres  to  herself,  to  unite  or  not  with  them  as  she  might  elect  under  the  Constitution. 

It  was  in  this  view  of  the  subject  that  we  mutually  agreed  with  the  Provisional 
Director  that  the  time  had  come  for  treating  with  the  Confederation  under  his  aus- 
pices. 

Buenos  Ayres  may  deny,  in  her  present  anomalous  position,  refusing  as  she  does 
to  be  represented  in  the  Constituent  Congress,  that  treaties  thus  made  are  binding 
upon  her.     I  have  no  apprehension,  however,  that  she  will  to  the  end  continue  to 


APPENDIX  C.  577 

disregard  their  obligations.     But  if  she  should  attempt  to  do  so,  she  will  be  ulti- 
mately, and  soon,  in  one  way  or  another,  compelled  to  abide  by  them. 

She  is  either  in  the  Confederation  or  out  of  it.  If  in  it,  she  must  be  made  to  con- 
form to  its  international  duties ;  if  out  of  it,  and  hereafter^recognized  as  a  separate 
nationality,  she  will  be  constrained,  by  the  opening  of  the  rivers  and  ports  above, 
and  for  her  own  self-preservation,  to  enter  into  similar  treaties  on  her  own  account. 

The  time  has  passed  by  when  a  single  state  or  province,  upon  her  pretensions  of 
her  superior  wealth,  and  population,  and  strength,  can  dominate  over  all  others,  ob- 
structing their  progress,  and  hindering  the  friendly  relations  they  would  establish 
with  other  countries.  She  will  learn,  of  necessity,  the  republican  lesson  of  political 
equality  with  her  sister  provinces,  and  that  she  must  not  expect  them  to  submit  to 
no  organization  but  one  which  would  leave  all  the  power  and  rule  with  her. 

I  may  here  add  that  the  Constitution  ^o  identical  almost  with  our  own)  which 
was  adopted  at  Santa  Fe,  and  submitted,  through  the  Provisional  Director,  to  the 
people  of  the  provinces  for  their  acceptance,  has  been  received  enthusiastically  every 
where  out  of  Buenos  Ayres ;'  and  I'  presume  that  the  next  step  of  the  Constituent 
Congress  which  framed  it,  and  which  remains  in  session  until  the  complete  organi- 
zation under  it,  will  be  the  appointment  of  a  day  for  the  election  of  President  and 
Vice-President. 

Urquiza  will  undoubtedly  be  elected  President,  if  he  is  willing  to  acept  the  office. 
His  elevation  to  that  position  will  confirm  still  more  the  hostility  of  Buenos  Ayres. 
•  But  she  would  be  almost  equally  averse  to  the  election  of  any  one,  being  a  native 
and  resident  of  an  interior  province. 

But,  leaving  these  speculations  as  to  the  future  of  the  Confederation,  I  present, 
with  brief  remark,  the  treaties  as  we  have  actually  made  them,  and  which,  I  trust, 
will  receive  the  sanction  of  the  President  and  the  Senate. 

The  treaty  of  San  Jose  de  Flores  is  a  success,  you  will  observe,  quite  exceeding 
what  Mr.  Webster,  in  his  instructions  to  me  of  the  28th  of  April,  1852,  expected  we 
should  be  able  to  accomplish.  It  was  hardly  hoped  then  that  a  negotiation  for  the 
free  navigation  of  the  rivers  could  terminate  thus  favorably. 

This  treaty  embodies  the  principle  of  General  Urquiza's  decree  of  the  3d  October, 
1852 ;  and  will  be  in  entire  accord  with  Article  26,  first  part  of  the  Constitution 
of  the  Confederation.     The  constitutional  declaration  is  in  these  terms : 

"  Article  26.  La  navigacion  de  los  rios  interiores  de  la  Confederacion  es  libra  para  todas  las  ban- 
deros,  con  sujeclon  unicamente  a  los  reglamentos  que  dicta  la  autoridad  Nacional." 

It  was  at  first  objected,  on  behalf  of  the  Confederation,  that  this  provision  of  their 
constitution  removed  the  whole  subject  from  the  treaty-making  power,  and  would 
leave  it  only  within  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Congress.  The  legislative  power,  it  was 
claimed,  could  alone  be  the  national  authority  to  prescribe  the  needful  regulations 
for  such  free  navigation. 

After  much  discussion  we  overcame  this  position,  by  satisfying  the  plenipoten- 
tiaries as  to  what  must  be  the  interpretation  of  their  own  constitution,  to  wit,  that 
treaties  regularly  concluded,  either  by  the  present  Provisional  Executive,  or  made 
by  the  President  and  approved  by  Congress,  after  the  organization  under  the  consti- 
tution, are  to  be  taken,  as  in  the  United  States,  as  "the  supreme  law  of  the  land;" 
and  that  "regulations"  established  by  treaty  must  be  considered  as  much  sanction- 
ed by  "national  authority"  as  if  enacted  in  the  shape  of  statute  law.  This  radical 
and  essential  point  was  yielded  to  us  upon  the  argument  which  was  devolved  upon 
me  to  make  in  behalf  of  the  three  powers. 

I  do  not  know  that  more  than  one  or  two  of  the  particular  articles  or  clauses  of 
this  treaty  require  comment.     The  others  all  clearly  explain  themselves. 

37 


578  APPENDIX  C. 

Article  V.  is  an  important  stipulation.  The  Island  Martin  Garcia  being  at  the 
head  of  the  River  Plata,  and  commanding  the  whole  channel  by  which  vessels  must 
pass  to  and  from  the  mouths  of  the  Parana  and  Uruguay,  an  unfriendly  power  in 
possession  of  that  point  niight  obstruct  the  whole  navigation.  Hence  the  necessity 
of  some  guard  against  such  possible  interpretation.  The  Province  of  Buenos  Ayres 
at  present  claims  and  holds  the  island. 

Mr.  Pendleton  and  I  would  not  agree,  on  behalf  of  our  government,  to  any  strong- 
er obligation  of  resistance  than  is  conveyed  by  the  phrase  "use  their  influence." 
That  is  an  expression  which  will  admit  of  great  latitude  of  interpretation.  Some 
such  clause,  however,  in  the  treaty,  you  will  at  once  perceive,  was  essentially  neces- 
sary for  its  certain  efficiency. 

So  far  as  the  Confederation  is  concerned,  it  is  to  be  fairly  claimed,  I  think,  that 
the  ratification  of  this  treaty,  as  well  as  that  subsequently  made  at  San  Jose',  is  com- 
plete. But  General  Urquiza,  at  the  same  time  that  he,  in  the  exercise  of  his  plenary 
powers  as  Provisional  Director,  was  willing  to  give,  and  has  given  his  absolute  con- 
firmation to  them  both,  has  yet,  out  of  respectful  deference  to  the  Congress,  whose 
sanction  will  be  required  to  treaties  made  ixnder  the  constitution  which  is  so  soon  to 
come  into  force,  declared  also  his  purpose  to  submit  these  to  the  approval  of  that 
body. 

This  explanation  might  remove  some  ambiguity  that  you  might  otherwise  find  in 
the  respective  ratifying  clauses. 

Our  co-operation  with  the  British  and  French  plenipotentiaries  ceased  after  the 
execution  of  the  River  Treaty. 

Mr.  Pendleton  proceeded,  as  he  has  informed  you,  on  the  22d  of  July,  to  Entre 
Rios,  to  procure  our  farther  negotiation  on  account  of  the  United  States  alone.  The 
treaty  we  agreed  on  there,  on  the  27th,  is  substantially  the  same  as  that  which  Great 
Britain  at  present  enjoys,  hers  being  made  in  the  time  of  Rosas  at  Buenos  Ayres ; 
and  France  has  intrusted  the  duty  of  endeavoring  to  obtain  a  similar  one  to  a  new 
Minister  Plenipotentiary,  who  had  just  arrived  in  the  river  at  the  time  of  my  leaving. 

You  will  find  that  in  all  the  articles  there  is  no  material  alteration  in  any  respect 
from  the  ordinaiy  form  and  provisions  of  these  reciprocal  treaties  which  we  were  in- 
structed to  adopt.  In  some  parts  only  I  sought  to  simplify,  condense,  and  make  a 
little  clearer,  and  trust  I,  in  some  small  degree,  succeeded. 

In  one  important  particular,  however,  we  have  obtained  an  advantage  quite  be- 
yond any  thing  secured  in  other  treaties  of  this  class.  This  with  the  Argentine 
Confederation  is  perpetual.  Considering  the  principles  of  reciprocity  established  by 
it,  and  the  comparative  amount  of  commercial  and  other  interests  of  the  two  coun- 
tries and  their  citizens  to  be  benefited  in  their  relations  with  each  other,  our  gov- 
ernment has  all  the  gain,  and  loses  nothing  by  the  absence  of  any  limitation  of  time. 

It  is  not  probable  that  such  a  perpetual  treaty  would  have  been  obtained  by  us 
now,  but  from  the  fact  that  the  existing  treaty  with  England  is  without  limit. 

But  we  have  not  found  General  Urquiza,  or  any  of  those  associated  with  him  in 
the  present  government  of  the  Confederation,  disposed  to  prefer  any  other  country 
or  its  interests  to  those  of  the  United  States.  Indeed,  there  is  entertained  for  us,  I 
may  say,  a  decided  partiality.  They  look  at  present  with  especial  interest  for  the 
public  opinion  of  our  people  upon  the  experiment  they  are  about  to  make  with  our 
Federal  Constitution. 

In  the  journey  made  by  Mr.  Pendleton  and  myself  to  Entre  Rios,  to  meet  Gen- 
eral Urquiza  and  conclude  the  general  treaty,  we  were  received  and  entertained 
with  marks  of  the  most  distinguished  and  flattering  respect  to  our  countiy.  We 
were  made  at  all  points  the  guests  of  the  government ;  the  American  flag  was  dis- 


APPENDIX  D.  579 

played  at  ever}'  opporttinity ;  and,  in  short,  every  testimonial  and  attention  exhib- 
ited which  could  indicate  the  high  consideration  in  which  we  were  held  as  repre- 
sentatives of  an  admired  nation. 

Mr.  Pendleton  being  unfortunately  taken  sick  by  the  wiay,  and  unable  to  proceed 
farther  than  Gualaguaychu,  I  had  to  go  on  to  San  Jose  and  agree  upon  the  treaty 
alone ;  but  General  Urquiza  kindly  and  promptly  met  this  difficulty  by  sending  a 
confidential  messenger  back  with  me,  a  distance  of  seventy  miles,  to  bring  and  take 
the  copy  for  the  Confederation,  so  that  my  colleague  should  also  have  opportunity 
to  affix  to  it  his  seal  and  signature. 

This  partiality  toward  the  United  States  is  more  to  be  regarded,  when  it  is  con- 
sidered that  the  recent  treachery  of  our  countryman  Coe,  and  the  very  reprehensible 
conduct  in  that  connection  of  one  of  our  naval  officers  of  high  rank,  and  perhaps  of 
other  American  citizens,  had  tended,  just  at  that  time,  to  excite  a  prejudice  to  our 
general  disadvantage  and  discredit. 

I  have  thought  it  not  impertinent  to  the  subject  of  my  dispatch  to  mention  this 
continued  favor  toward  our  government  and  people,  as  it  may  avail  something  here- 
after to  cultivate  and  encourage  such  a  disposition  for  the  benefit  of  American  com- 
mercial and  other  interests  that  may  be  expected  to  spring  up  and  increase  in  that 
quarter. 

I  must  not  close  this  dispatch  without  bearing  testimony  to  the  veiy  friendly  co- 
operation that  Mr.  Pendleton  and  I  have  had  throughout  the  negotiations  with  Sir 
Charles  Hotham  and  the  Chevalier  St.  Georges,  the  British  and  French  Ministers, 
in  all  that  related  to  the  objects  and  interests  of  our  three  governments  that  were  in 
common. 

We  found  both  those  gentlemen  on  all  occasions  liberal  and  frank  in  the  highest 
degree.  I  believe  it  will  be  admitted  all  around  that  we  labored  together,  when  it 
was  necessary  or  expedient,  with  joint  and  mutual  benefit. 

I  desire  also  to  express  to  you  a  very  high  sense  of  the  important  services  render- 
ed to  us  by  Lieutenant  Thomas  J.  Page,  commanding  the  United  States  steamer 
"Water  Witch."  Without  his  various  services  in  carrying  General  Urquiza  and 
his  staflF  when  they  retired  from  Buenos  Ayres ;  in  conveying  Mr.  Pendleton  and 
myself  afterward  to  Entre  Rios,  and  other  duties  which  he  with  his  ship  was  able  to 
perform,  I  hardly  know  how  we  could  have  succeeded  in  bringing  our  negotiations 
to  a  successful  conclusion.  The  presence  of  the  "Water  Witch"  for  several  weeks 
at  that  particular  juncture  was  invaluable ;  and  all  her  movements  strikingly  ex- 
emplified the  necessity  of  having  a  vessel  of  her  kind  and  class,  on  almost  all  occa- 
sions, on  the  River  Plate. 

Will  you  please  communicate  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  this  expression  of  our 
appreciation  of  the  services  of  Lieutenant  Page. 

I  have  the  honor,  etc.  Robekt  C.  Schenck. 


APPENDIX   D   (Page  59). 

MEMORANDUM  AS  TO  THE  "PROTEST"  OF  BUENOS  AYRES  AGAINST  THE  TREATY 
OF  SAN  JOSE'  DE  FLORES  (5™  SEPTEMBER,  1853),  BY  ROBERT  C.  SCHENCK,  MINIS- 
TER PLENIPOTENIARY. 

The  first  thing  that  demands  attention  in  this  paper  is  the  extremely  unfair,  un- 
candid,  and,  in  some  particulars,  false  statement  which  is  made  in  regard  to  the  cir- 
cumstances existing  at  the  time  the  treaty  was  signed. 

My  government  has  already  been  informed  as  to  the  history  of  the  mediation 


580  APPENDIX  D. 

which  was  conducted  under  the  ausjnces  of  the  Ministers  Plenipotentiary  of  En- 
gland, France,  and  the  United  States,  and  of  the  condition  of  aifairs  which  attend- 
ed the  withdrawal  of  General  Urquiza  from  the  siege,  and  his  retirement  to  Entre 
Rios.  It  is  not  necessary  to  repeat  that  history.  But  it  is  well  to  remark  how  stu- 
diously the  government  of  Buenos  Ayres  attempts  to  confuse  and  mix  together  mat- 
ters which  have  no  connection. 

The  Understanding  in  regard  to  the  retirement  of  General  Urquiza,  for  the  rea- 
sons stated  in  his  proclamation,  and  without  obstruction,  was  one  thing ;  the  terms 
which  should  be  made  with  General  Lagos  and  the  provincial  troops  outside,  was 
altogether  another  affair.  General  Urquiza,  by  the  arrangement  that  had  been 
made,  was  at  liberty  to  retire,  and  might  have  retired  with  all  the  forces  of  the  other 
provinces  unmolested  at  any  time  for  two  days  before  he  did  go.  But  he  magnani- 
mously remained  to  see  what  agreement  the  two  Buenos  Ayrean  parties,  inside  and 
outside,  were  going  to  make  between  themselves,  what  terms  would  be  granted  to 
General  Lagos,  if  he  would  raise  the  si«ge,  and  what  he  would  accept.  General 
Urquiza  apprehended  that  if  he  were  the  first  to  go  with  the  troops  of  the  Confed- 
eration, the  city  would  not  keep  faith  with  Lagos.  And  the  result  proved  that  there 
was  but  too  miich  reason  to  doubt  the  sincerity  of  the  inside  party.  For  my- 
self, I  had  no  confidence  in  the  ministers  of  the  inside  from  the  beginning  ;  and  I 
thought  General  Urquiza  was  right  in  waiting  as  long  as  he  did  for  the  event.  The 
delays  that  were  interposed,  day  after  day,  to  avoid  a  final  arrangement,  were  re- 
sorted to  by  the  city  party,  I  believed  then,  and  am  certain  now,  only  for  the  pur- 
pose of  exciting  doubt  and  disorganization  among  the  troops  outside,  and  not  with 
any  intention  of  making  a  fair  and  honest  peace. 

It  is  false  to  say,  as  their  "Protest"  does,  that  the  mediating  ministers  were  at  the 
Government  House  in  the  city  on  the  13th  of  July,  laboring  to  make  terms  for  the 
safety  of  General  Urquiza.  The  question  as  to  General  Urquiza's  movements  was 
disposed  of.  They  were  then  only  trying  to  adjust  the  terms  of  peace  to  be  made 
with  Lagos  and  his  provincial  force.  It  is  equally  untrue  the  statement  that  that 
long  interview  was  broken  up  by  news  of  the  abandonment  of  the  siege  by  Urquiza 
and  Lagos.  The  discussion  was  protracted  by  Torres  and  his  fellow-ministers,  and 
eveiy  sort  of  new  delay  and  objection  interposed  by  them,  to  the  surprise  of  the 
mediating  ministers,  after  every  point  as  to  Lagos  and  his  chiefs  had  been  the  day 
previous  substantially  agreed  upon  and  settled.  But  before  that  interview  was  over, 
the  terms  in  relation  to  Lagos  and  his  provincial  force  were  at  last  signed  by  the 
Buenos  Ayrean  ministers,  and  not  communicated  that  night  to  him  only  because 
it  was  too  late.  The  departure  of  General  Urquiza  was  not  known  by  the  medi- 
ating ministers  nor  heard  of  in  the  city  until  next  morning ;  nor  did  they  learn  un- 
til then  of  the  breaking  up  of  the  siege  of  Lagos. 

General  Lagos  took  that  course  evidently  yielding  to  the  disorganization  of  his 
forces  produced  by  the  delays  and  false  dealing  of  the  inside  government — delays 
cunningly  and  basely  resorted  to  after  every  thing  had  been  virtually  and  in  good 
faith  arranged. 

I  have  not  a  doubt  but  that  while  the  mediating  ministers  were  discussing  for 
hours  the  plan  of  an  honorable  peace  with  the  ministers  of  the  city  on  the  13th,  at 
that  very  time  the  authorities  were  sending  out  the  reports,  which  became  current 
in  the  camp,  that  the  mediating  ministers  had  confederated  with  General  Urquiza 
to  betray  Lagos  and  his  troops. 

I  will  not,  however,  as  I  said,  repeat  this  history.  It  is  only  of  any  consequence 
to  refer  to  it  again,  because  it  shows  that  General  Urquiza,  in  making  the  treaty, 
acted  under  no  such  imminent  danger,  or  apprehension,  or  in  any  such  state  of  alarm 


APPENDIX  D.  531 

as  this  "Protest"  imputes  to  him.  If  there  was  any  truth  or  good  faith  in  the  in- 
side party,  he  had  no  cause  to  feel  any  apprehension  on  the  day  the  treaty  was 
made,  for  his  understanding  with  them  was  ah-eady  complete,  and  they  had  gladly 
conciu'red  in  the  arrangement  that  he  should  retire,  with  the  troops  of  the  Confed- 
eration under  his  immediate  command,  in  the  foreign  men-of-war.  In  order  to 
make  it  otherwise  appear  now,  they  are  forced  to  deny  and  discredit  their  own  prop- 
ositions and  solemn  promises.  They  had  even  three  days  before  requested  of  Gen- 
eral Urquiza,  through  the  mediating  ministers,  as  a  favor,  that  when  he  did  with- 
draAv  to  Entre  Rios  he  would  go  up  the  River  Uruguay  instead  of  the  Parana — a 
request  which  he  had  acceded  to  as  suiting  his  own  purposes. 

But,  suppose  it  were  true  that  General  Urquiza  was  beaten,  defeated,  driven  from 
Buenos  Ayres,  how  coiild  that  affect  the  validity  of  the  treaty  he  had  made  ?  It 
does  not  in  the  least  touch  the  question. 

This  "Protest"  proceeds  throughout  on  the  mistaken  assumption  that  a  govern- 
ment negotiating  with  the  Argentine  Confederation  is  going  to  take  notice  of  the 
domestic  broil  or  civil  war  existing  in  Buenos  Ayres,  one  of  the  provinces  of  that 
republic.  But  that  is  wholly  an  affair  of  their  own.  It  matters  not  whether  the 
war  was  between  different  parts  of  that  province  or  different  portions  of  its  people ; 
or  between  that  province  and  the  rest  of  the  Confederation. 

Buenos  Ayres  is  not  known  to  foreign  powers  in  this  question.  She  has  never, 
in  fact,  separated  herself  from  the  Confederation,  and  declared  her  independence ; 
and  if  she  had  done  so,  the  recognition  of  her  nationality  is  an  act  and  right  which 
belongs  exclusively  to  governments.  And  until  such  recognition  has  been  made, 
either  by  her  own  government  or  the  government  to  which  the  province  belonged, 
we  are  bound  to  consider  her  ancient  relations  as  unaltered.  This  principle  has 
been  distinctly  declared  by  an  American  judicial  court,  in  Gelston  versus  Hoyt — 3 
Wheaton,  324. 

It  is  of  no  consequence  whether  the  Provisional  Director,  when  he  made  his 
treaty,  was  marching  out  of  that  province,  or  into  that  province,  or  had  never  been 
near  that  province  at  all.  It  is  of  no  consequence  whether  Buenos  Ayres  was  at 
peace  within  her  own  borders,  or  distracted  by  war ;  or  at  peace  or  at  war  with  the 
rest  of  the  Confederation.     We  have  nothing  to  do  with  those  domestic  affairs. 

The  question  is.  Whether  ice  have  a  treaty  with  the  Argentine  Confederation  ?  Not 
'■'■What  the  Argentine  Confederation  is  f  Buenos  Ayres  may  belong  to  it,  or  not  be- 
long to  it ;  be  bound  to  its  treaties,  or  not  bound ;  and  so  may  any  other  province. 
Those  are  questions  to  be  considered  hereafter. 

Bat  the  "Protest"  says  that  General  Urquiza  was  not  a  free  agent,  but  was  act- 
ing under  compulsion  when  he  treated. 

The  best  answer  for  that  is  that  General  Urquiza  still  adheres  to  the  treaty,  and  has 
ratified,  and  asks  for  it  the  approbation  and  sanction  of  the  Congress  of  the  Confeder- 
ation. And  the  constituted  authorities  of  the  national  government  ixnder  the  Constitu- 
tion will  probably  be  as  well  satisfied  with  it  as  the  Provisional  Director.  He  report- 
ed the  whole  negotiation  and  its  conclusion  to  the  Constituent  Congress ;  and  his 
communication,  with  exact  copies  of  all  the  treaties,  was  published  in  full  in  the  Na- 
ciojud,  the  official  newspaper  at  Parana,  the  capital  of  Entre  Rios,  on  the  22d  of  Au- 
gust. It  was  through  that  publication  that  the  authorities  of  Buenos  Ayres  must 
have  possessed  themselves  of  the  copies  which,  with  so  much  parade,  they  pretend- 
ed to  have  "discovered"  on  the  31st  of  August.  Discovered  a  secret  plot  against 
Buenos  Ayres  in  the  public  newspapers !  It  really  seems  that  they  can  not  be  other- 
wise than  disingenuous  about  every  thing. 

The  sympathy  for  General  Urquiza,  in  the  coercion  and  abuse  of  his  situation  to 
which  it  is  pretended  he  was  subjected,  seems  to  be  entirely  uncalled  for. 


582  APPENDIX  D. 

Besides,  to  show  that  there  was  no  surprise  or  imposition  on  the  Provisional  Di- 
rector, it  must  be  i-emembered  that  he  had  been,  for  almost  a  year  before,  consider- 
ing the  making  of  this  very  treaty. 

All  the  terms  of  it,  I  am  informed  by  the  English  and  French  plenipotentiaries, 
had  been  virtually  agreed  to  with  them  months  previously  to  its  being  concluded ; 
and  two  weeks  before  he  had  signified  to  me  his  willingness  to  make  a  treaty  with 
the  United  States,  in  the  very  words  of  this  which  was  signed. 

But  the  "Protest"  objects  that  General  Urquiza  had  no  power  to  treat. 

It  is  rather  late  to  claim  now  that  General  Urquiza  did  not  represent  the  Confed- 
eration in  its  foreign  relations,  when  such  powers  had  not  only  been  conferred  upon 
him  by  the  Acuerdo  of  San  Nicetas,  and  confirmed  subsequently  by  the  Congress  of 
Delegates  at  Santa  Fe',  in  which  thirteen  of  the  fourteen  provinces  were  represent- 
ed, but  when  he  had  been  actually  exercising  such  functions  in  repeated  ways  and 
instances.  He  concluded  a  treaty,  by  his  plenipotentiary,  with  Paraguay  on  the  15th 
July,  1852.  He  received  these  very  ministers  of  England,  France,  and  the  United 
States,  who  signed  the  treaties  of  San  Jose  de  Flores,  in  July  and  August,  1853 
— ministers  who  came  with  letters  of  credence,  and  with  powers  to  treat  on  the  very 
subject  of  this  treaty — the  free  navigation  of  the  rivers.  Buenos  Ayres  had  no  ob- 
jection to  make  to  his  powers  then.     It  is  with  her  now  evidently  an  after-thought. 

But  Buenos  Ayres  complains  that  she  was  not  represented  in  the  Congress  which 
confirmed  the  powers  of  the  Provisional  Director.  That  is  a  pity ;  it  is,  perhaps, 
her  misfortune.  The  other  thirteen  provinces  were  all  there ;  and,  it  seems,  by  the 
adoption  of  a  constitution,  that  the  Argentine  Confederation  will  go  on  even  with- 
out her  concurrence,  notwithstanding  Buenos  Ayres  is  impressed  with  the  idea  that 
that  is  impossible ! 

It  is  to  be  hoped,  however,  that  so  important  a  member  of  the  Confederation  as 
she  is  will  reconsider  her  ground,  and  not  hold  out  any  longer  in  her  anomalous  po- 
sition. It  is  desirable  that  she  could  continue  in  the  republic,  because,  in  addition 
to  other  advantages,  her  capital  city  will  be  a  convenient  and  suitable  place  for  the 
federal  capital. 

It  is  pretended  that  the  powers  of  the  Provisional  Director  have  ceased  with  the 
adoption  of  the  Constitution.  If  that  were  admitted,  it  would  follow,  as  a  conse- 
quence, that  there  is  no  government  of  the  Confederation ;  because  the  elections  for 
President  and  Congress,  under  the  Constitution,  not  yet  having  taken  place,  there 
has  been  nobody  to  whom  the  provisional  government  could  surrender  its  powers. 

It  is,  on  the  contrary,  obvious  that  tlie  provisional  government — that  is  to  say,  the 
provisional  directorship,  continues  in  the  person  of  General  Urquiza,  or  some  one 
else ;  or  else  there  must  be  some  other  form  of  government  to  represent  the  sover- 
eignty and  nationality  of  the  republic  until  the  organization  shall  have  taken  place 
under  the  Constitution. 

There  is  no  force  in  the  objection  that  the  5th  article  contains  an  agreement  in 
regard  to  the  Island  of  Martin  Garcia,  and  is  void,  because  that  island  belongs  to 
Buenos  Ayres,  and  she  was  not  consulted.  Admit,  for  the  sake  of  argument,  that 
the  island  is  her  territory ;  and  also  admit  (which  she  does  not  dare  to  claim)  that 
she  is  no  longer  in  the  Confederation ;  even  then  the  agreement  about  it  is  good  be- 
tweeii  the  parties  to  the  treaty. 

Did  not  England  and  France  invite  the  United  States  to  enter  into  a  treaty  in  re- 
gard to  the  Island  of  Cuba?  and  yet  Cuba  belonged  to  neither  of  the  contracting 
parties ;  and,  more  than  that,  the  very  object  of  such  a  treaty  was  that  it  never 
should  belong  to  either.  The  government  of  the  United  States  did  not  in  that  case 
decline  because  there  was  any  doubt  about  its  power  and  right,  or  the  power  and 


APPENDIX  D.  583 

right  of  the  other  parties  to  treat  upon  the  subject,  but  because  it  did  not  suit 
our  policy  to  tie  up  our  hands,  or  to  be  drawn  into  any  such  negotiation  about  that 
island. 

The  Protest  says  that  the  6th  article  would  deprive  Buenos  Ayres  of  her  right  of 
blockade,  in  time  of  war  with  any  nation  on  the  river  above  her.  Not  at  all.  This 
article  expressly  recognizes  the  right  of  blockade  and  search,  in  proper  cases,  by  de- 
claring what  articles  of  a  cargo  shall  be  considered  contraband. 

But  "a  blockade  to  be  acknowledged  as  valid  must  be  confined  to  particular 
ports,  each  having  a  force  stationed  before  it  sufficient  to  interrupt  the  entry  of  ves- 
sels." Such  is  the  law  of  nations ;  and  it  is  only  intended  by  this  article  that  nei- 
ther Buenos  Ayres  nor  any  other  state,  under  claim  of  right  of  blockade,  shall  shut 
up  the  rivers  and  stop  the  commerce  and  navigation  of  all  the  countries  above ;  but 
shall  be  confined,  in'the  exercise  of  her  hostile  right,  to  a  strict  and  legitimate  block- 
ade of  the  particular  port  or  ports  of  the  nation  with  which  she  may  be  at  war. 

The  pretense  that  this  treaty  was  made  merely  as  a  means  by  wTiich  General 
Urquiza  might  avenge  himself  on  Buenos  Ayres,  does  not  deserve  notice  or  reply. 
Nor  will  I  answer  the  base  insinuation  that  the  ministers  of  the  three  governments 
bargained  for  the  treaty  with  General  Urquiza,  as  the  condition  of  their  acknowl- 
edging the  blockade  of  the  port  of  Buenos  Ayres,  farther  than  by  reference  to  the 
fact  that  that  blockade  was  recognized  as  legitimate,  in  May,  not  by  the  diplomatic 
agents,  but  as  a  question  pertaining  to  them  by  the  naval  commanders,  not  only  of 
England,  France,  and  the  United  States,  but  also  of  Brazil,  Sardinia,  Spain,  and 
all  other  countries  having  vessels  of  war  on  the  station. 

The  declaration  of  Buenos  Ayres  that  she  first  opened  the  rivers  to  free  navigation 
by  her  law  of  the  18th  October,  1852,  is  a  mere  impudent  pretension.  It  is  such  a 
statement  as  could  only  be  expected  in  a  paper  which  represents  the  squadron,  sold 
by  the  traitor  Coe,  as  "  having  gone  over  and  submitted  voluntarily  to  the  orders  of 
the  Buenos  Ayrean  inside  party,  simply  because  it  recognized  the  justice  of  that 
cause." 

The  fact  is  that  General  Urquiza,  to  whom  the  world  is  indebted  for  his  liberal 
policy,  after  the  fall  of  Rosas,  made  the  first  decree  opening  the  rivei's  on  the  2Sth 
of  August,  1852;  and  afterward  confirmed  that  again  by  his  other  decree  made  at 
Parana,  October  3d,  1852.  And  this  last  mentioned  decree  was  issued,  as  declared 
in  the  preamble  to  it,  ' '  in  view  of  the  opposition  taken  by  the  Province  of  Buenos 
Ayres,"  that  is  because  Buenos  Ayres  had  shown  a  disposition  to  obstruct  that  free 
navigation. 

But  whether  the  rivers  are  open  or  not — by  decrees  of  Urquiza,  by  the  law  of 
Buenos  Ayres  (and  how  could  her  sala  legislate  for  the  waters  of  the  whole  Confed- 
eration?), or  by  the  declaration  contained  in  the  Constitution  of  the  Confederation ; 
in  either  case,  there  was  still  the  same  necessity  for  a  treaty.  Now  this  free  navi- 
gation will  not  be  subjected  to  changing  legislation,  amendments  of  a  constitution, 
revolutions,  or  caprice  of  the  Confederation,  or  of  any  of  its  states ;  but  it  is  estab- 
lished and  perpetually  secured  by  solemn  compact  between  sovereign  nations. 

And  here  I  would  stop.  But,  looking  at  the  treaties  as  published  with  this  "Pro- 
test," I  can  not  forbear  calling  attention  to  another  small  matter — a  petty  trick  and 
cheat  to  which  these  Buenos  Ayrean  ministers  have  descended,  in  order  to  make 
it  seem  that  General  Urquiza  was  usurping  a  title  and  office  which  could  only  be 
conferred  under  the  Constitution.  They  have  falsified  the  ratifying  clause  in  each 
of  the  treaties  by  substituting  the  word  "President"  (Presidente  de  la  Confeckracion) 
for  "Provisional  Director"  {Director  Provisario). 

Rio  de  Janeiro,  1S53. 


584  APPENDIX  E. 


APPENDIX  E  (Page  137). 

EXTRACTS  FROM  THE  REPORT  OF  LIEUTENANT  POWELL  ON  HIS  TOUR 
THROUGH  THE  YERBALES  OF  PARAGUAY. 

The  general  plan  adopted  for  the  execution  of  my  instructions  was  to  take  the 
sides  of  an  imaginary  triangle,  one  angle  of  which  rested  at  the  city  of  Asuncion, 
another  among  the  "  Yerbales,"  near  the  town  of  San  Estanislado,  and  a  third  at 
the  town  of  San  Cosme  on  the  River  Parana,  as  the  route  of  travel  to  be  followed  as 
nearly  as  practicable,  to  fix  the  important  features,  astronomically  or  by  bearing  and 
distance,  to  collect  specimens  of  productions,  and  to  show  the  present  condition  of 
the  country. 

The  party  under  my  charge  for  this  service  consisted  of  two  of  the  crew  of  the 
Water  Witch  and  a  native,  who  acted  as  guide  and  Guarani  interpreter.  Our  means 
of  transportation  were  horses,  one  of  which  carried,  as  a  pack,  two  tents,  cooking 
utensils,  etc.  The  instruments  consisted  of  a  sextant  and  artificial  horizon,  a  pock- 
et-chronometer, a  compass,  a  mountain  barometer,  and  thermometers.  The  chro- 
nometer and  compass  were  carried  upon  my  person,  the  barometer  on  that  of  the 
guide. 

These  arrangements  being  completed,  we  left  Asuncion  on  the  31st  of  May,  1854, 
and  commenced  our  route  to  the  northward  and  eastward  for  the  Yerbales.  Fol- 
lowing this  route  as  shown  by  the  map,  we  spent  our  first  night  out  at  the  village  of 
Lugue,  thence  passed  on  to  the  more  considerable  town  of  Ytagua. 

Leaving  Ytagua  on  the  7th  of  June,  we  passed  around  the  head  of  the  Lake  Ypa- 
caray,  and  after  visiting  the  villages  of  Atira,  Tobat}^,  and  Caraguatay,  reached 
San  Estanislado  on  the  17th,  where  we  were  hospitably  received  and  comfortably 
housed  by  the  Juez  de  Paz,  Don  Jose  de  Ricaldi. 

A  glance  at  the  map  shows  the  Lake  Ypacaray  lying  between  the  slight  sierras  of 
Paraguayri  and  Piraju.  It  is  a  beautiful  sheet  of  water  of  twelve  or  thirteen  miles  in 
length  and  from  one  to  three  miles  in  width.  It  receives  its  waters  from  the  neigh- 
boring sierras  and  the  valley  to  the  eastward,  and  discharges  them  into  the  Paraguay 
through  the  little  river  Salado.  Herds  of  cattle  graze  upon  its  banks,  but  its  surface 
is  only  disturbed  by  numerous  wild  fowls,  and  its  depths  as  yet  only  sounded  by  the 
nutria,  the  alligator,  and  other  of  its  indigenous  occupants. 

The  face  of  the  country  between  the  Sierra  of  Piraju  and  the  River  Aguay  is  gen- 
erally low,  and,  though  interseced  by  the  considerable  stream  of  the  Piribeby  and 
some  small  tributaries  of  it  and  the  Aguay,  is  not  sufficiently  well  drained  to  prevent 
its  being  wet  and  sometimes  marshy,  except  about  the  occasional  wooded  knolls 
which  rise  from  50  to  75  feet  above  the  general  level.  The  villages  of  Atira  and 
Tobaty,  situated  on  the  slope  of  the  Sierra  of  Piraju,  are  but  small  collections  of  in- 
different Indian  huts,  standing  around  their  little  churches  and  inhabited  by  rem- 
nants of  the  once  numerous  Guarani  tribe. 

The  town  of  Caraguatay  contains  120  houses,  and  upon  our  entering  it  on  the 
morning  of  the  9th  the  people  were  celebrating  a  "fiesta,"  in  honor  of  the  re-elec- 
tion to  the  Presidency  of  his  Excellency  Don  Carlos  Antonio  Lopez,  and  I  estimat- 
ed the  number  in  the  place  at  one  thousand.  So  many  of  these  crowded  around 
the  tents  as  to  prevent  me  from  using  the  instruments  or  doing  any  thing  else  than 
gratify  their  curiosity,  and  to  force  me  to  surrender  at  discretion  and  await  a  better 
time.  By  meridian  of  the  12th  I  found  but  three  families  in  it.  The  "fiesta"  was 
over,  and  they  all  had  returned  to  their  usual  residences  in  the  neighboring  country. 

The  River  Aguay  was  only  about  thirty  yards  wide,  and,  like  most  of  the  other 


APPENDIX  E.  535 

Btreams  of  this  low  section  of  the  country,  has  but  little  current,  though  the  depth 
was  such  as  to  make  it  necessary  to  swim  our  horses  and  pass  the  luggage  in  canoes. 
As  shown  by  the  map,  it  discharges  into  the  Paraguay ;  and  near  where  we  crossed 
it  there  was  in  course  of  construction  a  large  raft  of  timber,  to  be  floated  down  to 
Asuncion. 

On  the  northern  bank  of  the  Aguay  lies  the  estancia  of  the  state,  Ygazanri,  wliich 
is  one  of  many  large  tracts  of  land,  stocked  with  cattle  and  horses,  owned  by  the 
state,  and  managed,  under  the  direction  of  the  government,  by  a  capitaz  and  liis  as- 
sistants. In  extent  it  is  said  to  be  twenty  miles  square,  and  the  stock  upon  it  num- 
ber eighty  thousand  head.  The  number  of  cattle  owned  by  the  government  of  this 
countiy  on  these  different  estancias  is  estimated  at  one  million. 

Between  the  River  Aguay  and  the  Sierra  of  San  Miguel  lies  the  Estero  of  Agua- 
racatj',  an  extensive  marsh  in  which  are  lost  several  considerable  streams,  among 
which  is  the  Rio  Hondo. 

As  we  advanced  over  Ygazauri  our  route  lay  over  marshes  and  through  lagoons, 
in  which  the  mud  and  sand  was  frequently  above  the  girths  of  our  saddles,  causing 
considerable  difficulty  in  our  progress  and  great  fatigue  to  our  horses.  At  the  dis- 
tance of  five  miles  from  the  Hondo  we  reached  the  estancia  of  the  state,  San  Miguel, 
situated  on  the  slope  of  the  sierra  of  that  name.  And,  having  passed  over  this  sierra, 
we  found  the  face  of  the  country  between  that  and  San  Estanislado  broken  and  un- 
even, and  the  forest  growth  diversified  by  the  palm. 

Having  learned  that  the  nearest  yerbales  at  which  work  was  being  carried  on  at 
the  time  were  thirty  miles  distant  in  the  mountains,  I  determined  to  visit  them,  ac- 
companied by  a  guide,  who  acted  as  interpreter.  After  a  ride  of  twenty-five  miles 
over  a  fair  mountain  road  we  reached  the  Yerbale  of  Santa  Rosa,  where  we  were 
welcomed  to  his  ranch  by  the  patron,  Don  Falkcncia  Pcriedo,  who  hospitably  sup- 
plied us  with  the  best  he  had,  and  to  whom  I  am  indebted  for  most  of  the  following 
information  relative  to  gathering  and  preparing  of  the  "Paraguay  Tea." 

The  Yerha  Mate,  or  Ilex  Paraguay ensis,  is,  as  designated  by  its  botanical  name,  a 
shrub  of  the  same  class  as  our  holly.  Its  Spanish  name  is  derived  from  the  word 
mate,  a  gourd,  in  which  it  is  prepared  as  a  beverage.  It  is  found  in  the  sierras  of 
the  northern  part  of  this  and  in  similar  localities  of  the  neighboring  countries.  Con- 
siderable quantities  of  it,  as  prepared  for  commerce,  are  now  used  in  the  different 
countries  of  South  America.  That  of  Paraguay  is  most  esteemed,  and  is  one  of 
the  principal  articles  of  her  export  trade.  The  rethe  lands  in  which  the  yerbales 
are  found  belong  to  the  state,  and  the  trade  in  it  is  a  government  monojioly. 

It  is  gathered  and  cured,  sometimes  under  the  superintendence  of  the  government 
officials  of  the  departments  in  which  it  is  found,  at  others  by  private  individuals  who 
receive  permission  to  work  it  on  prescribed  conditions.  Wlien  worked  by  the  of- 
ficials the  workmen  are  drafted  from  the  neighborhood,  as  if  for  any  other  public 
work,  and  are  paid  in  cured  yei-ba  or  in  goods,  such  as  wearing  apparel,  etc.,  with 
which  the  government  keeps  itself  supplied  for  such  purposes,  and  on  which  it  gains 
the  usual  percentage.  When  worked  by  individuals  the  general  rule  is  to  allow  them 
one  third  of  the  yerba  cured,  they  paying  all  expenses. 

On  commencing  the  work  of  gathering  and  curing  the  yerba,  the  patron  or  super- 
intendent selects  his  location — having  in  view  the  quantity  of  the  material  and  the 
facility  of  transportation — and  erects  the  necessary  buildings,  consisting  generally  of 
a  shed  of  fifty  or  sixty  feet  in  length  for  storing  the  goods,  provisions,  etc.,  that  he 
may  have  and  the  yerba  that  he  collects,  a  number  of  small  huts  as  dwellings  for  the 
workmen,  and  the  harhracuas,  or  frames  \\\mn  which  the  material  is  dried.  The 
former  are  constructed  in  a  rude  manner  and  thatched  with  dry  grass.     The  latter 


586  APPENDIX  E. 

are  more  firmly  constructed  of  poles  and  withes,  are  in  size  fifteen  or  twenty  feet 
square,  have  arched  or  angular  roofs,  and  firm  even  floors  made  of  clay,  extending 
six  or  eight  feet  beyond  the  frames  on  all  sides,  for  the  convenience  of  pulverizing 
the  material  after  it  is  dried. 

Near  each  barbracua  is  erected  (if  there  is  no  tree  convenient  for  the  purpose)  a 
stand  from  which  the  uru,  or  foreman,  may  watch  the  drying  material  and  go  to  the 
top  of  the  barbracua  to  make  such  changes  in  its  disposition  as  he  may  deem  neces- 
sary. The  yerba  sometimes  reaches  the  size  of  a  tree,  growing  to  the  height  of 
twenty-five  or  thirty  feet ;  but  in  collecting  it  for  curing,  the  bushes  of  from  six  to 
twelve  feet  in  height,  and  from  one  to  two  and  a  half  inches  in  diameter  of  stem,  are 
preferred.  These,  having  been  passed  through  the  flames  of  a  flre  built  near  the 
place  of  cutting  for  the  purpose,  are  stripped  of  their  half-dried  leaves  and  tender 
twigs,  which  are  then  carried  to  the  barbracuas  to  be  thoroughly  toasted. 

For  the  purpose  of  transportation  the  raydo  (a  net-work  of  hide  thongs  of  four  or 
five  feet  square,  having  long  thongs  to  pass  over  the  leaves  and  twigs  upon  it,  and 
secure  at  its  diagonal  corners)  is  used,  and  is  carried  upon  the  head  and  shoulders 
of  a  workman.  Having  been  struck  by  the  quantity  carried  by  one  man  in  this  man- 
ner, I  had  the  packed  raydo  weighed  as  it  was  taken  off  of  the  carrier,  and  found  its 
weight  to  be  fourteen  Spanish  arobas,  of  twenty-five  English  pounds  each,  or  three 
hundred  and  fifty  English  pounds. 

The  half-dried  material  is  carefully  placed  over  the  top  and  partly  down  the  sides 
of  the  barbracua,  in  quantities  of  from  fifty  to  one  hundred  arobas,  and  in  such  a 
manner  as  to  permit  the  heat  to  reach  every  part  of  it.  A  fire,  from  which  the  ob- 
ject is  to  get  heat  with  as  little  flame  and  smoke  as  possible,  is  then  built  under  it, 
and  taken  charge  of  by  one  of  the  workmen.  The  foreman  mounts  the  guard-stand 
and  the  other  workmen  go  to  the  collection  of  more  half-dried  leaves  and  twigs  to 
take  the  place  of  those  now  being  toasted.  From  thuty-six  to  forty-eight  hours,  the 
fires  being  kept  up  from  daylight  to  7  or  8  P.  M. ,  are  occupied  in  the  toasting  process. 

If  it  rains  upon  the  material  upon  the  barbracua,  it  is  necessary  to  repack  and  dry 
it  again.  And  yerba  which  has  been  so  made  is  not  considered  good  for  prese^-va- 
tion,  and  is  never  sent  to  the  government  agents  for  shipment,  but  is  sold  for  home 
consumption. 

The  toasting  process  being  completed,  the  fire  is  removed,  the  floor  swept  off,  and 
the  dry  material,  being  worked  through  the  frame,  falls  to  the  floor,  and  is  pounded 
with  wooden  instruments  in  the  shape  of  wood  swords,  until  reduced  to  the  condition 
'  of  a  coarse  powder,  and  gradually  removed  to  the  store-house  as  it  becomes  so. 

The  yerba  is  packed  in  hide  bales,  made  by  cutting  the  edges  of  a  raw  hide  even, 
moistening  it,  doubling  it  lengthwise,  and  sewing  up  the  sides  with  hide  thongs. 
The  packing  is  done  by  putting  in  small  quantities  at  a  time  while  the  hide  is  moist, 
settling  it  well  with  a  heavy  wooden  pestle,  and  gradually  closing  the  open  end,  until 
the  bale  will  contain  no  more.  The  hide  then  contracting  as  it  dries,  adds  to  the 
compactness  of  the  whole,  and  it  is  ready  for  transportation.  These  bales  are  termed 
tercios,  and  those  made  of  the  larger  hides  contain  two  hundred  English  pounds. 
The  workmen  are  paid  at  the  rate  of  25  cents  the  aroba  for  the  cured  yerba,  as  it  is 
brought  from  the  barbracua,  and  a  packer  gains  about  six  cents  the  aroba,  the  hide 
being  found  by  the  employer. 

Having  passed  24  hours  at  Santa  Eosa,  I  returned  to  San  Estanislado,  accompa- 
nied by  the  Senor  Periedo,  and  on  June  24th,  it  being  the  Feast  of  St.  John,  we  had 
a  grand^esto.  The  chief  amusement  of  the  day  was  horse-racing,  which  appeared 
to  be  entered  into  with  considerable  sjjirit  by  the  crowd,  though  the  bets  rarely  went 
beyond  a  silver  dollar.     The  horses  were  but  ordinary  in  appearance  or  speed,  and 


APPENDIX  E.  587 

were  ritlden  generally  bare-back  and  with  the  riendas,  which  consist  of  a  simple  pair 
of  leather  reins  secured  by  a  leather  thong  to  the  lower  jaw  of  the  horse.  This  form 
of  bridle  is  the  ordinary  one  of  the  country,  and  I  noticed  that  those  who  ordinarily 
used  an  iron  bit  preferred  running  their  horses  with  the  riendas. 

Our  route  to  the  River  Tibiquari-Mini,  Ipng  within  the  edge  of  the  series  of 
sierras  and  mountains  which,  commencing  mth  those  of  San  Miguel,  Ymbutuy,  and 
Cauguazu,  stretches  over  toward  the  River  Parana,  presented  a  great  variety  in  the 
face  of  the  countiy  passed  over.  Until  we  reached  San  Joaquim  it  generally  varied 
from  deep  grassy  valleys  to  bluff  wooded  sierras.  After  leaving  Yhu  it  was  more 
regularly  high  and  rolling,  well  covered  with  grass,  and  having  large  clusters  of 
woods  scattered  over  it.  Throughout  this  portion  of  our  route  there  is  but  a  thin 
population,  the  uneven  and  broken  country  between  San  Estanislado  and  Yhu  offer- 
ing but  few  advantages  for  agriculture,  and  the  grass  country  beyond  Yhu  not  af- 
fording a  sufficiency  of  saline  matter  in  the  composition  to  keep  cattle  in  a  healthy 
condition. 

At  the  estancia  of  Don  Manuel  Antonio  Vera,  however,  distant  fifteen  miles  from 
San  Estanislado,  we  found  a  fine  crop  of  sugar  growing,  and  also  a  mill  for  grind- 
ing the  cane.  This  mill,  as  the  representative  of  the  only  kind  of  labor-saving  ma- 
chinery kno\vn  in  the  intei'ior  of  the  country,  deserves  some  notice  here.  It  consisted 
of  three  wooden  cylinders  of  about  five  feet  in  length  and  t^vo  and  a  half  feet  in  diam- 
eter, set  perpendicularly  and  in  a  line  in  a  frame,  so  as  to  revolve  horizontally.  On 
the  head  of  the  middle  cylinder,  which  projected  above  the  frame-work,  was  set  with 
a  mortice  one  end  of  a  pole,  which  was  inclined  to  the  gi'ound  at  such  an  angle  as 
to  admit  oxen  or  horses  to  be  attached  to  the  other  end,  as  the  motive  power.  This 
cylinder  communicated  motion  to  the  other  two  by  means  of  cogs  and  mortices. 
One  of  the  outer  cylinders  was  set  at  sirch  a  distance  from  the  middle  one  as  to  take 
in  the  full-sized  cane  and  crtish  it ;  the  other  somewhat  closer,  so  as  to  give  it  a  sec- 
ond pressure.  Near  the  mill  was  a  shed,  under  which  several  large  copper  kettles 
were  set  in  stone-work  for  boiling  the  juice. 

In  this  simple  manner  quantities  of  sugar  and  molasses  are  made  in  different 
parts  of  the  country.  And  the  adaptation  of  the  soil  and  climate  of  the  greater  part 
of  Paraguay  to  the  production  of  this  article  of  commerce  is  undoubtedly  very  good. 

Having  reached  the  village  of  San  Joaquim,  I' handed  my  letter  of  introduction 
from  the  Seiior  Ricaldi  to  the  jefe,  who  kindly  put  a  good  house  at  my  disposition, 
and,  requesting  that  I  might  make  known  any  farther  wants  I  might  have,  excused 
himself  from  being  much  with  me,  as  he  was  vciy  busy  in  preparing  an  expedition 
for  cutting  a  road  from  that  ])lace  to  the  Parana,  in  order  to  collect  some  informa- 
tion of  that  portion  of  the  country  for  his  government,  and  more  particularly  to  en- 
deavor to  discover  the  valuable  yerbale  of  Carema,  which  had  been  lost  in  the  time 
of  Francia.  San  Joaquim  contains  about  thirty  houses,  and  the  inhabitants  are  all 
Indians,  except  the  jefe  and  his  household. 

Leaving  San  Joaquim  on  the  6th,  in  company  with  Padre  Sosa,  who  had  again 
joined  us,  we  went  to  Yhu,  another  Indian  village  rather  smaller  than  San  Joaquim, 
but  numbering  rather  more  whites  in  its  population.  Here  my  friend  the  padre, 
who  had  to  say  mass  on  the  morning  of  the  8th  at  San  Joaquim,  took  his  final  leave 
of  us  on  the  9th. 

After  lea\'ing  Yhu  we  found  our  route  leading  over  a  different  "water-shed,"  the 
streams  now  all  passing  off  to  the  eastward  and  paying  tribute  to  the  Parana.  Upon 
reaching  the  considerable  stream  of  Taruma  we  met  a  party  of  fifteen  men,  which 
the  jefe  of  Yhu,  Seiior  Alonzo  Benitcs,  had  collected  here  to  show  us  the  mode  of 
hunting  the  venadillo — a  small  deer  of  the  country — with  the  bolas. 


588  APPENDIX  E. 

The  temptation  was  strong  to  join  this  party,  as  it  started  at  full  speed  in  pursuit 
of  a  herd  of  deer  watching  us  from  a  little  distance,  and  compare  the  carbine  with 
the  bolas.  But  a  reflection  upon  my  chronometer  and  traveling-horse  determined 
me  to  move  on  with  the  train,  and  to  be  satisfied  with  occasional  sights  of  the  chase 
from  a  distance. 

By  sunset  we  had  reached  the  stream  of  Guirahugua  and  pitched  the  tents  upon 
its  banks,  at  a  sufficient  distance  from  a  neighboring  wood  to  be  able  to  guard  the 
horses  from  the  jaguars,  which  are  here  the  lords  of  the  country,  it  being  uninhabit- 
ed by  the  Paraguayans  and  only  occasionally  visited  by  the  Indians  of  the  mount- 
ains to  the  eastward.  The  tracks  of  these  animals  crossed  our  route  in  every  direc- 
tion, and  frequently  they  were  so  fresh,  or  the  animal  Ijing  concealed  so  close,  that 
the  horses  would  start  back  at  the  scent,  and  it  was  with  considerable  difficulty  that 
we  could  force  them  by  some  parts  of  the  route.  The  stealthiness  of  the  animal  is 
such  and  the  undei-growth  so  thick  that  though  constantly  on  the  look-out  for  a  shot 
I  did  not  get  a  clear  sight  of  one  of  them.  The  jaguar  often  preys  upon  horses  and 
cattle,  and  sometimes  attacks  a  man,  but  boldness  not  being  one  of  its  characteris- 
tics, such  prey  is  only  attacked  by  surprise. 

On  the  evening  of  the  9th,  I  had  an  opportunity  of  letting  the  guide  compare  the 
rifle  and  the  bolas.  The  deer  were  plenty  around  at  a  distance,  and  my  dog  was 
standing  partridges  every  fifty  or  a  hundred  yards.  After  several  ineffectual  efforts 
to  get  a  shot  at  the  deer,  which  were  alarmed  by  the  size  of  our  party,  I  got  within 
fifty  yards  of  two  of  them,  and,  firing  my  rifle,  one  of  them  fell.  The  guide,  upon 
examining  it,  found  that  the  ball  had  entered  just  back  of  the  left  ear,  and  passed 
out  of  the  right  eye.  He  was  consequently  very  strongly  impressed  with  the  effect 
of  the  rifle,  and  the  skill  with  which  it  was  used. 

The  village  of  Cauguazu  we  found  to  be  a  recent  settlement — the  church  having 
been  finished  in  1852 — and  containing  but  seven  houses.  It  was  a  penal  settle- 
ment, too,  most  of  the  inhabitants  having  been  forced  to  it,  in  carrying  out  one  of 
the  means  which  this  government  uses  for  settling  the  wild  portions  of  its  territory ; 
which  is  to  make  such  individuals  or  families  as  have  offended  against  the  laws  of 
the  older  communities  move  out  of  them,  and  establish  new  ones  in  such  places  as 
it  may  designate.  Leaving  Cauguazu  on  the  evening  of  the  10th,  we  passed  that 
night  with  the  Jefe  Don  Diego  Villaba,  about  two  miles  from  the  village,  in  order 
to  effect  an  exchange  of  another  broken-down  horse  for  a  mule  of  one  of  his  neigh- 
bors, which  was  done  by  paying  nearly  the  value  of  the  mule  in  money. 

Making  an  early  start  on  the  11th,  we  passed  through  the  "Monte  Caugauzu," 
an  elevated  piece  of  wooded  land  of  fifteen  miles  in  extent,  by  the  road,  and  which 
effected  a  change  in  the  -water-shed  in  our  roiite  again ;  the  north  fork  of  the  River 
Tibiquari-Mini  crossed  near  its  southern  limit,  having  its  course  to  the  westward. 
This  is  a  stream  of  twenty  yards  in  width,  and  having  considerable  current. 

Some  five  miles  farther  on  we  reach  the  main  body  of  the  Tibiquari-Mini,  which 
is  seventy-five  or  eighty  yards  wide,  and  which  the  guide  pronounced  to  be  in  such 
a  condition  as  to  make  it  necessary  to  swim  the  horses  over,  and  pass  the  luggage 
in  canoes.  Our  trouble  in  preparing  for  this  we  found  to  be  useless  however,  and, 
having  lost  some  time  at  it,  encamped  for  the  night  on  a  rich  grass-plain  a  short 
distance  from  the  southern  bank. 

After  leaving  the  Tibiquari-Mini  we  found  ourselves  again  in  the  low  lands,  the 
face  of  the  country  between  it  and  the  town  of  Villa  Rica  being  variegated  with 
rich  grass-plains  and  slightly  elevated  hills  ;  the  latter  were  ornamented  with  quite 
thickly  scattered  houses  and  their  chacras,  in  which  were  cultivated  principally  to- 
bacco and  mandioca,  of  which  this  section  of  the  country  gives  an  abundant  yield, 
while  over  the  former  were  seen  numerous  herds  of  fine  cattle  and  horses. 


APPENDIX  F.  580 

APPENDIX  F   (Page  274). 

NOTES  FROM  COMMANDER  PAGE   TO   MR.  JOSE'  FALCON. 

Asuncion,  Paraguay,  Sept.  28, 1854 

The  undersigned,  lieutenant  commanding  the  United  States  steamer  Water 
Witch,  has  the  honor  to  inform  his  Excellency  Jose'  Falcon,  Minister  and  Secretary 
of  State  of  the  Republic  of  Paraguay,  that  he  has  received  from  the  Envoy  Ex- 
traordinary and  Minister  Plenipotentiary  of  the  United  States  to  the  Court  of  Brazil, 
a  communication  informing  the  undersigned  that  his  Imperial  Majesty  has  conced- 
ed the  privilege  to  the  U.  S.  steamer  Water  Witch  to  ascend  and  explore  the  up- 
per waters  of  the  Paraguay  River,  and  those  tributaries  within  the  dominions  of  the 
empire  of  Brazil.  Accompanying  the  coinmunication  above  referred  to  is  a  copy 
of  the  correspondence  on  this  subject  between  his  Excellency  the  Envoy  Extraor- 
dinary and  Minister  Plenipotentiary  of  the  United  States,  William  Trousdale,  and 
his  Excellency  Antonio  Paulino  Limpo  de  Abreo. 

The  undersigned  desires  to  bring  this  subject  to  the  notice  of  his  Excellency,  and 
indulges  the  hope  that  his  Excellency  the  President  of  the  Republic  of  Paraguay, 
actuated  by  the  same  enlightened  policy  as  that  which  has  influenced  his  Imperial 
Majesty,  will  concede  to  the  undersigned  the  privilege  of  passing  in  the  Water 
Witch  through  that  portion  of  the  territory  of  Paraguay  which  lies  between  Asun- 
cion and  the  territory  of  Brazil. 

Tour  Excellency  is  aware  that  the  object  had  in  view  by  the  explorations  of  the 
Water  Witch  is  to  extend  the  bounds  of  science  and  geographical  knowledge.  To 
the  attainment  of  this  end,  the  undersigned  feels  assured  that  his  Excellency  the 
President  of  Paraguay,  will  grant  every  facility. 

The  undersigned  appends  an  extract  from  the  note  of  his  Excellency  Antonio 
Limpo  de  Abreo,  of  the  7th  August,  1854,  to  his  Excellency  William  Trousdale, 
Envoy  Extraordinary  and  Minister  Plenipotentiary  of  the  United  States. 

"A  vista  pois  da  Seguran^a  que  da  o  Senior  William  Trousdale,  o  abaixo  assig- 
nado  tem  a  houra  de  communiciar  the,  em  reshosta  a  sua  Nota  de  4  de  instuie- 
96es  ao  Presidente  de  Provincia  de  Matto  Grosso,  para  permittir  e  felicitar  as  ex- 
plora96es  do  Commandante  do  Water  Witch  no  rio  Paraguay,  acima  de  Albu- 
querque e  nos  suis  tributarios,  que  pertercen  ao  Brazil." 

The  undersigned  requests  an  answer  at  an  early  day,  and  takes  the  occasion  to 
renew  to  his  Excellency  the  assurances  of  his  distinguished  consideration. 

(Signed)  Thos.  J.  Page, 

Asuncion,  Sept.  28, 1854 
The  undersigned,  lieutenant  commanding  the  United   States   steamer  Water 
Witch,  has  the  honor  to  address  his  Excellency  Jose  Falcon,  Minister  and  Secreta- 
ry of  State  of  the  Republic  of  Paraguay,  in  relation  to  the  departure  from  this 
country  of  the  American  citizens  now  residing  in  Asuncion. 

During  an  interview  with  his  Excellency  the  President  of  the  Republic  on  the 
22d  inst.,  the  undersigned  was  assured  that  to  the  departure  of  the  American  citi- 
zens above  alluded  to,  together  with  their  effects  and  merchandise,  there  was  no 
objection ;  and  that  it  would  only  be  necessary  for  them  to  be  supplied  with  pass- 
ports, and  have  their  merchandise  dispatched  through  the  custom-house  in  accord- 
ance with  the  usual  forms.  Under  this  assurance  vessels  have  been  provided  for 
their  departure,  their  passports  taken  out,  and  on  the  application  made  through  the 
secretary  of  the  undersigned  for  the  permit  for  the  merchandise,  the  undersigned  is 
informed  that  the  permit  can  not  be  granted  until  the  surrender  by  Mr.  Hopkins,  to 


590  APPENDIX  F. 

the  Collector  of  Customs,  of  the  papers  relating  to  the  purchase  of  land  at  San  An- 
tonio. The  undersigned  does  not  perceive  any  relevancy  of  the  two  questions  one 
to  the  other — the  taking  out  of  a  permit  for  goods  and  the  demand  of  the  Collector 
for  the  papers  alluded  to.  The  papers  are  the  private  property  of  the  American 
company  of  which  Mi-.  Hopkins  is  agent,  which  is  sufficient  reason  that  he  should 
retain  them,  and  as  such  can  not  be  surrendered  to  the  Collector  of  Customs. 

The  undersigned  desires  that  his  position  in  relation  to  citizens  of  the  United 
States  may  be  distinctly  understood  by  your  Excellency,  and  to  this  end  he  assumes 
the  medium  of  a  written  communication. 

The  obligations  enjoined  on  the  undersigned  by  the  Government  of  the  United 
States  make  it  his  imperative  duty  to  protect  from  violation  the  persons  and  prop- 
erty of  American  citizens,  to  the  discharge  of  which  duty  the  undersigned,  recogniz- 
ing the  full  force  of  the  obligation,  feels  confident  that  he  shall  never  be  delinquent. 

The  rule  of  conduct  prescribed  for  the  undersigned  by  his  sense  of  duty  to  the 
American  citizens  in  the  city  of  Asuncion  is  this,  that,  failing  to  receive  the  neces- 
sary permit  for  their  departure  in  the  usual  mode  and  means  of  conveyance,  they 
will  embark  on  board  the  United  States  steamer  Water  Witch  for  safe  conduct  to 
Corrientes.  The  undersigned  trusts  that  his  Excellency  will  appreciate  the  sense' 
of  duty  under  which  the  undersigned  finds  himself  placed,  when  he  assures  his  Ex- 
cellency that  he  indulges  the  hope  that  the  good  relations  which  have  characterized 
his  intercourse  with  the  government  of  Paraguay  may  long  subsist.  Desiring  an 
answer  at  an  early  day,  the  undersigned  avails  himself,  etc., 

(Signed)  Tnos.  J.  Page. 

Asuncion,  Sept.  20, 1854 
The  undersigned,  lieutenant  commmanding  the  United  States  steamer  Water 
Witch,  has  the  honor  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  the  communication  of  this  date 
■from  his  Excellency  the  Secretary  of  State  and  Minister  of  Foreign  Relations,  re- 
turning his  two  communications  of  yesterday  without  a  reply  to  either.  This  con- 
tempt of  official  communications,  unknown  to  the  civilization  of  the  age,  deprives 
the  undersigned  of  the  means  of  arriving  at  the  designs  and  purposes  of  this  gov- 
ernment toward  forbidding  or  permitting  the  prosecution  of  the  exploration  in- 
trusted to  his  charge  by  the  government  of  the  United  States,  so  far  as  the  territory 
of  Paraguay  is  concerned.  Furthermore,  it  deprives  the  undersigned  of  the  means 
of  arriving  at  the  fact  whether  or  not  will  this  government  permit  the  American 
citizens  now  residing  in  Asuncion,  held  bound  under  such  painful  circumstances,  to 
leave  this  country  in  the  conveyance  usually  adopted.  One  of  the  communications 
related  to  this  point  especially. 

To  this  the  undersigned  receives  the  return  of  his  letter,  instead  of  a  reply  to  his 
question.  The  duty  now  devolves  on  the  undersigned  to  receive  on  board  of  the 
Water  Witch  the  American  citizens  aUuded  to,  for  their  protection  and  safe  con- 
duct out  of  the  dominions  of  Paraguay.  The  question  of  translating  the  communi- 
cation above  alluded  to  into  Spanish,  is  one  the  undersigned  does  not  permit  him- 
self to  entertain.  With  equal  right  might  he  claim  of  this  government  the  transla- 
tion of  its  communications  into  English.  The  undersigned  is  cognizant  to  the  fact 
that  the  government  has  received  other  communications  in  the  English  language, 
and  has  had  them  translated  into  the  Spanish.  The  government  of  Paraguay  is 
therefore  not  in  such  a  state  of  dependency  as  to  require  that  the  undersigned  shall 
supply  it  mth  a  translator. 

The  undersigned  desires  to  inform  his  Excellency  that  the  circumstances  involved 
will  be  reported  to  the  government  of  the  United  States,  for  its  action  and  instruc- 


APPENDIX  G.  591 

tions.     In  tlie  mean  time  lie  will  relieve  the  American  citizens  of  their  painful  po- 
sition by  removing  them  to  a  country  of  their  own  selection. 
The  undersigned  takes  the  occasion  to  renew,  etc., 

(Signed)  Thos.  J.  Page. 


APPENDIX   G  (Page  299). 

CONTRACT  OF  COLONIZATION  FOR  THE  PROVINCE  OF  CORRIENTES. 

In  the  city  of  Corrientes,  capital  of  the  province  of  the  same  name,  on  the  29th 
January,  1853,  before  me,  the  undersigned.  Notary  Public  of  the  Government,  and 
the  undersigned  witnesses,  appeared  Secretary  Don  Gregorio  Valdez  and  Dr.  Don 
Augusto  Brouges,  of  Caixon  Department  "de  las  Altas  Pireneos,"  in  France,  who 
said :  the  first,  that,  as  the  representative  of  his  Excellency  the  Governor  and  Cap- 
tain-General of  the  Province,  Don  Juan  Pujol,  to  make  with  Sefior  Brouges  a  sol- 
emn contract  for  the  establishment  of  colonies  in  the  country,  and  to  reduce  the 
same  to  a  public  instmment  of  writing;  and  the  second,  that  it  was  true,  as  had 
been  announced  by  the  Secretary,  and  that  he  recognized  it  as  a  legitimate  con- 
tract. In  virtue  of  which,  and  by  the  present  writing  entered  into  by  both  parties, 
they  bind  themselves  in  the  following  articles  of  agreement : 

1st.  The  secretary  declared  that  the  government  of  his  country,  desiring  to  pro- 
mote and  unfold  in  the  province  that  which  the  industry  of  the  people  demanded, 
and  especially  the  agricultural  interest,  as  a  sure  fountain  of  the  wealth  of  a  coun- 
try, permits  Senor  Brouges  to  bring  to  the  country  one  thousand  families  for  the 
purpose  indicated,  each  family  to  be  composed  of  five  persons,  whose  transit  will  be 
at  the  expense  of  Senor  Brouges ;  with  the  understanding  that,  should  the  govern- 
ment of  Corrientes  have  a  steamer  in  any  port  of  the  Argentine  Confederation,  the 
property  of  the  province,  on  the  arrival  of  these  families  in  the  Eio  de  la  Plata,  it 
shall  be  placed  at  the  disposition  of  Sefior  Brouges,  or  his  agent,  for  the  purpose  of 
towing  the  vessel  containing  the  emigrants  up  to  the  point  of  their  disembarkation. 

2d.  The  major  part  of  these  five  persons  who  compose  each  agricultural  family 
will  be  of  the  male  sex,  capable  of  working,  and  not  under  ten  years  of  age ;  chil- 
dren of  less  age,  of  the  same  family,  being  admissible  as  supernumeraries. 

3d.  Two  distinct  families,  united  by  an  authentic  agreement,  and  making  the 
number  of  five  persons,  will  be  accepted  as  one,  and  in  this  sense  will  enjoy  priv- 
ileges above  stipulated. 

4th.  Senor  Brouges  is  bound  to  effect  the  transportation  of  the  one  thousand  fam- 
ilies by  groups  of  two  hundred  each  in  the  space  of  two  years,  and  the  entire  num- 
ber in  the  space  of  ten,  which  will  count  from  the  day  of  the  arrival  of  the  first  group 
at  the  place  of  their  destiny. 

5th.  Each  group  shall  be  from  a  colony,  under  the  direction  of  Sefior  Brouges, 
or  his  competent  agent,  the  agreement  of  each  individual  family  being  an  affair  in- 
trusted to  him. 

6th.  The  locations  of  the  colonies  granted  by  the  government  will  be  on  the  Eiver 
Parana  and  Uruguay,  in  what  is  called  the  "Missiones,"  and  they  will  be  selected 
by  Senor  Brouges  from  the  public  lands. 

7th.  The  government  of  Corrientes,  in  the  name  of  the  province,  adjudges  to  each 

family,  of  the  lands  selected  by  Sefior  Brouges,  twenty*  "cuadras"  square,  of  one 

hundred  and  fifty  "varas"  a  side,  whose  lot  and  portion  of  land  shall  be,  at  the  end 

of  five  years  from  the  arrival  of  each  group  of  families,  the  absolute  property  of  each 

*  "  Veiente  cuadras  cuadradas  de  ciento  cinquenta  vases  por  cada  lado." 


592  APPENDIX  G. 

one  of  the  families,  in  consideration  of  the  advantages  accruing  to  the  country  from 
their  industry. 

8th.  Each  colony  will  locate  in  two  sections,  of  one  hundred  families  to  each 
fronting  each  other,  leaving  an  intermediate  space  of  a  hundred  "cuadras"  one  from 
the  other,  of  three  "cuadras"  in  breadth,  which  intermediate  space  may  be  sold  by 
the  government  of  Corrientes  to  those  who  may  wish  to  build  on  it,  with  the  view 
of  increasing  the  population  of  the  colony,  it  being  understood  that  one  half  of  the 
proceeds  of  such  sale  shall  go  into  the  public  treasury  of  the  province,  and  the  other 
half  into  the  common  depository  of  the  colony,  for  the  public  benefit,  and  declaring 
of  the  same  character  those  lands  between  the  possessions  of  the  colonists  and  the 
river's  banks. 

9th.  The  government  of  Corrientes  grants,  at  the  same  time,  for  the  common 
benefit  of  each  colony,  four  leagues  square  of  land,  in  addition,  adjoining  the  pos- 
session of  the  colonies,  extending  into  the  interior  of  the  province,  whose  right  of 
possession  shall  be  alienated  by  no  one. 

10th.  In  addition  to  the  above,  the  government  of  Corrientes  will  provide  for  the 
establishment  of  each  family  a  house  or  "ranche"  of  wood,  consisting  of  two  rooms, 
of  five  "  varas"  square,  one  of  them  to  have  a  door,  and  the  other  a  window,  the 
whole  of  the  value  of  fifty  dollars  ("patac  ones");  it  will  also  furnish  six  barrels 
of  flour,  of  eight  arobas  each  (200  pounds),  cotton  and  tobacco  seed  for  sowing  a 
"quadra"  (150  yards)  each;  four  "  fanegas"  of  wheat,  and  one  of  corn  for  the 
proper  use,  and  plants  of  sugar-cane  sufficient  to  plant  one  "cuadra"  of  land;  also 
twelve  head  of  cattle,  two  oxen  for  cultivating  the  ground,  eight  cows  for  breeding, 
and  two  horses  for  work. 

11th.  The  agricultural  families  will  establish  themselves  under  the  following  con- 
ditions :  the  articles  above  mentioned  will  revert  to  the  government  at  the  expiration 
of  two  years  from  the  date  of  their  delivery ;  provided  that,  should  the  crops  of  the 
colonists  have  been  bad  during  these  two  years,  then  the  time  of  reversion  shall  be 
extended  to  three  years ;  but  this  operation  wOl  not  take  effect  with  the  succeeding 
group  of  families  in  two  years,  but  at  the  expiration  of  three,  because  it  is  advisable 
that  the  advances  made  to  the  first  colony  will  serve  .as  elements  for  the  establish- 
ment of  the  second  ;  those  of  this  for  the  third,  and  so  on,  until  the  state  has  been 
reimbursed  to  the  last  amount  expended,  which  shall  be  at  the  rate  of  two  hundred 
dollars  ("patac  ones")  to  each  family. 

12th.  The  colonists  will  clear  the  lands  granted  them.  Each  family  will  culti- 
vate one  half  of  the  land  in  cotton,  tobacco,  sugar-cane,  whe%t,  and  corn,  leaving  the 
other  half  for  the  cultivation  of  any  thing  that  may  please  the  colonist. 

13th.  The  colonists  who  are  thus  established  in  this  province  will  be  a  dependency 
of  it,  and  in  no  manner  whatsoever  of  any  other  state  or  nation.  They  will  have 
an  administration,  civil  and  judicial,  discharged  by  a  judge  of  the  peace  ("juez  de 
paz"),  appointed  by  the  government  from  among  the  colonists,  or  a  native  of  the 
countiy,  whose  administration  shall  he  conformable  with  the  laws  of  the  province. 

Idth.  The  colonists  will  have  the  right  to  appoint  a  colonial  commission  of  ten 
persons  from  the  same  colony,  whose  duty  will  be  to  serve  as  a  council  to  the  judge 
of  the  peace,  in  certain  cases,  to  vote  the  necessary  sum  of  money  for  the  benefit  of 
the  colony,  and  to  represent  to  the  government  the  propriety  or  necessity  of  better 
measures. 

15th.  The  colonists  will  practice  industry  freely,  under  subjection,  nevertheless,  to 
the  laws  of  the  country. 

16th.  During  the  term  of  five  years  from  the  establishment  of  each  colony,  the 
colonists  will  be  exempted  from  all  personal  tax  on  articles  both  movable  and  im- 
movable. 


APPENDIX  H.  593 

17th.  The  duties  arising  from  exportation  and  importation  shall  be  the  same  in 
the  colonies  as  the  rest  of  the  province. 

18th.  The  colonists  will  be  exempted  from  military  service,  being  competent  only 
to  organize  a  civil  national  guard,  for  then-  proper  defense  and  the  maintenance  of 
good  order  in  each  colony,  whose  service  will  be  confined  to  the  colony  alone ;  and 
the  colonists  will  not  present  themselves,  in  an  armed  body,  at  a  greater  distance 
from  the  confines  of  the  colony  than  one  league. 

19th.  Mr.  Brouges  will  advise  the  government  of  Corrientes  four  months  before 
the  expected  arrival  of  the  colonists,  to  the  end  that  the  government  may  have  the 
necessary  time  to  construct  houses  of  wood,  and  make  other  necessary  arrangements. 

20th.  This  contract  will  be  submitted  to  the  approval  of  the  government,  repre- 
sented in  the  person  of  the  secretary,  from  which  A'ill  be  obtained  a  full  ratification, 
rendering  effective  all  these  obligations ;  it  will  be  observed  and  complied  with,  ex- 
actly and  legally,  without  modification,  alteration,  or  interpretation  in  any  manner 
diff"cring  from  the  triie  intent  of  its  stipulations. 

To  M'hich  appeared  as  witnesses  Don  Bartolome  Lcscano,  Don  Manuel  Jose  Ruda, 
and  Don  Jose  Ezequiel  Madeyi'o,  before  me,  Notary  of  the  Public  and  Government, 

Gregorio  Valdez, 

Don  Augusta  Brouges. 

C  Bartolome  Lescano, 

Witnesses,  \  Manuel  Jose'  Ruda, 

'  Jose  Ezequiel  Madeyro. 

Corrientes,  January  12th,  1853. 

En  virtud  de  la  ley  de  25  Corriente,  que  encabeza  este  contrato,  lo  apruebo  y  ra- 
tifico  en  todas  sus  partes.  Juan  Pujol,  Gobernador. 


APPENDIX  H  (Page  384). 

THE  ATTACK  UPON  THE  WATER  WITCH. 

Commander  Page  to  Mr.  Dobbin. 

United  States  Steamer  Water  Witch,  Parana  River,  February  5,  1855. 

Sir, — I  have  the  honor  to  forward  to  the  Department  the  inclosed  report  from 
Lieutenant  Jeff"ers,  from  which  it  will  be  seen  that  a  most  unprovoked,  unwarrant- 
able, and  dastardly  attack  has  been  made  on  the  "Water  Witch"  while  she  was  in 
the  peaceable  and  rightfid  discharge  of  duty  assigned  me  by  the  Department. 

On  the  31st  of  last  month  I  left  Corrientes,  with  the  small  steamer  and  two  boats, 
taking  with  me  three  of  the  olficers  and  sixteen  men,  with  the  design  of  ascending 
the  River  Salado,  in  boats,  if  possible,  should  the  small  steamer  prove  inadequate. 
This  force  would  have  been  necessary,  in  the  event  of  using  either  the  small  steamer 
or  the  boats.  Lieutenant  Jeff'ers  I  left  in  charge  of  the  Water  Witch,  with  instruc- 
tions to  ascend  the  Parana  River,  so  far  as  her  draught  would  allow.  This,  I  sup- 
posed, would  be  less  than  two  hundred  mOes. 

He  saUed  from  the  town  of  Corrientes  on  the  1st  instant,  and,  as  will  be  seen  from 
his  report,  had  not  gone  more  than  three  miles  from  where  the  river  forms  the  com- 
mon boundary  between  Corrientes  (one  of  the  provinces  of  the  Argentine  Confedera- 
tion) and  Paraguay,  when  the  Water  Witch  was  fired  into  from  a  fort  on  the  Para- 
guay side  of  the  river. 

The  Water  Witch  was  in  the  act  of  exploring  a  river  which  is  the  common  bound- 
ary between  these  two  countries.     The  right  of  each  to  navigate  this  river  up  to  the 

38 


594  APPENDIX  H. 

limit  of  the  Province  of  Corrientes  has  never  been  questioned  by  either,  and  I  liad 
never  heard  that  Paraguay  presumed  to  exercise  the  power  of  preventing  its  naviga- 
tion. 

To  the  exploration  of  this  portion  of  the  Parana  I  had  not  only  obtained  the  per- 
mission of  the  Argentine  Confederation,  and  especially  of  the  Province  of  Corrientes 
but  an  expression  of  earnest  solicitude  on  the  part  of  both  the  President  of  the  Con- 
federation and  the  Governor  of  Corrientes  had  been  made  that  I  should  estabhsh 
the  fact  that  the  river  is  navigable  to  a  much  greater  extent  than  that  to  which  it  is 
now  known  to  be,  of  which  they  had  some  hope,  but  not  the  means  of  proving. 

The  navigation  of  this  river  to  the  extent  of  the  territory  of  Corrientes  is  already 
secured  to  the  flag  of  the  United  States  by  treaty  with  the  Argentine  Confederation. 
That  government,  so  far  from  objecting  to  the  Water  Witch's  ascending  the  river, 
had  furnished  me  with  an  order,  enjoining  upon  every  province  into  whose  waters  I 
should  enter  the  obligation  to  afford  me  every  facility. 

On  what  ground  and  for  what  reason  the  government  of  Paraguay  has  presumed 
to  commit  such  an  act  I  am  unable  to  conjecture.  So  far  from  the  Water  Witch 
making  any  hostile  demonstration,  she  attempted  to  pass  up  the  river  through  a 
channel  way  which  was  more  on  the  Corrientes  side,  and,  in  doing  so,  was  "run 
aground"  by  the  pilot.  This  was  seen  from  the  fort.  It  was  well  known  to  the 
government  of  Paraguay,  and,  doubtless,  to  the  commander  of  the  fort,  that  the 
Water  Witch  was  with  a  very  reduced  complement  of  both  officers  and  men,  and, 
consequently,  it  could  not  have  been  her  design  to  make  an  attack.  The  act  of  fir- 
ing into  the  vessel  can  not,  therefore,  receive  the  shadow  of  justification  on  the 
grounds  of  anticipating  an  attack.  It  is  consequently  a  wanton  outrage ;  the  act  of 
a  government  beyond  the  pale  of  civilization,  and  seemingly  unconscious  of  the  re- 
sponsibility of  such  an  outrage.  This  is,  nevertheless,  no  palliation  for  so  grave  an 
offense. 

Lieutenant  Jeffers  was  in  the  act  of  executing  instructions  which  he  had  received 
from  me  when  the  steamer  was  fired  into.  His  covirse  and  conduct  on  the  occasion 
I  highly  approve  and  commend,  and  I  hope  they  will  meet  with  the  approval  of  the 
Department. 

It  is  with  pain  and  regret  that  I  report  the  death  of  Samuel  Chancy,  quartermas- 
ter. He  died  in  two  hours  from  the  effects  of  wounds  received  from  a  ball  and 
splinters.  There  were  a  few  slight  wounds  received  by  others  from  splinters,  which 
were  so  slight  as  not  to  prevent  the  discharge  of  the  usual  duties. 

The  vessel  was  hulled  ten  times,  but  in  no  point  of  any  importance.  The  repairs 
can  be  readily  made.  I  now  proceed  to  Montevideo  with  the  hope  of  obtaining 
from  the  commodore  or  senior  officer  two  jr  three  guns  of  suitable  callibre  and  an 
addition  of  a  few  men.  With  this  force  I  shall  feel  confident  of  the  ability  of  the 
Water  Witch  to  avenge  the  outrage  which  has  been  perpetrated  on  the  flag  of  the 
United  States. 

I  indulge  in  the  sanguine  hope  that  the  commodore  will  act  in  this  matter  with  all 
the  promptness  which  the  exigencies  of  the  case  require,  and  that  such  a  course  will 
receive  the  approval  of  the  Department. 

I  have  the  honor,  sir,  to  be,  very  respectfully,  yotir  obedient  servant, 

Thos.  J.  Page,  Lieut.  Com'g  U.  S.  Steamer  Water  Witch. 

Hon.  James  C.  Dobbin,  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  Washington,  D,  C. 

Lieutenant  Jeffers  to  Commander  Page. 

United  States  Steamer  Water  Witch,  Corrientes,  February  2,  1855. 
SiE, — In  pursuance  of  your  instructions,  and  vrith  the  consent  of  the  Governor  of 


APPENDIX  H.  595 

the  Pro\ince  of  Corrientes,  at  7  A.M.  on  yesterday,  February  1,  weighed  anchor 
and  stood  up  the  Eiver  Parana  for  the  purpose  of  making  an  exploration  of  its  upper 
course  so  far  as  navigable,  and  rectifying  the  chart  of  the  river  up  to  the  mouth  of  the 
Paraguay  in  all  places  where  the  channel  had  changed  since  the  chart  was  made. 
Nothing  particular  occurred  until  11  A.M.,  when  we  entered  the  Parana  above  the 
mouth  of  the  Paraguay  (observing  some  movements  at  the  Guai-dia  "Cerito"),  and 
continued  our  course  diagonally  across  the  stream  toward  the  Corrientes  shore,  in- 
tending to  pass  between  that  and  an  island  about  four  miles  above  the  mouth  of  the 
Paraguay,  Guardia  "Carracha,"  at  the  Paso  del  Key,  in  sight  on  the  right  bank. 
At  ll"*  26""  opened  this  station,  a  semicircular  brick  fort  on  an  elevation  of  about  30 
feet  above  the  river,  mounting,  as  well  as  I  could  ascertain,  six  guns  "c»  harhette,'" 
and  shortly  afterward  ran  aground,  about  half  a  mile  from  the  fort,  on  a  sand-bank 
making  up  suddenly  out  of  deep  water,  one  fathom  under  the  bows,  3^  at  the  wheel- 
house.     A  boat  was  sent  from  the  guardia,  which  laid  off  observing  our  motions. 

I  immediately  laid  out  a  kedge  astern,  and  about  \2^  IS""  hauled  off  and  let  go 
our  anchor ;  attempted  to  weigh  the  kedge,  but  lost  it.  Wliile  the  men  were  at  their 
dinner  I  observed  the  Paraguayans  getting  their  guns  ready.  I  shifted  starboard 
gun  to  forward  port,  on  port  side  of  quarter-deck,  cleared  for  action,  filled  forty 
shrapnel!  and  twelve  shells,  and  got  up  thirty  stand  of  gi-ape ;  but  not  supposing 
that  any  thing  serious  would  result,  did  not  cut  the  rail  over  the  port  to  which  the 
gun  had  been  shifted. 

I  then  stationed  Mr.  Potts  at  the  bell,  and  in  charge  of  the  deck,  to  assist  the 
pilot,  with  directions  to  proceed  at  all  hazards,  unless  the  machinerj'  should  be  dis- 
abled. Mr.  Lamdin  I  placed  in  charge  of  the  after  guns,  and  Mr.  Taylor  at  the 
engine.  We  mustered  at  quarters  but  twenty-eight,  of  whom  two  were  sick,  and 
five  cooks  and  stewards. 

At  l^"  20""  weighed ;  while  weighing  the  anchor,  the  Paraguayan  canoe  which  had 
been  observing  our  movements  came  alongside,  and  a  man  offered  me  a  paper  print- 
ed in  Spanish,  which  I  declined  to  receive  on  the  ground  that  I  cotdd  not  read  it. 
As  soon  as  the  anchor  was  aweigh,  I  stood  up  the  river,  the  crew  at  quarters.  The 
pilot  informed  me  that  the  only  practicable  channel  was  close  to  the  fort,  and  this 
channel  I  directed  him  to  take.  On  arriving  within  three  hundred  yards,  I  was 
hailed  by  a  person,  who,  I  am  informed,  was  the  Paraguayan  admiral ;  but  I  did 
not  understand  the  import  of  the  hail.  Two  blank  cartridges  were  then  fired  from 
the  fort  in  quick  succession,  and  followed  by  a  shot.  I  had  given  particular  orders 
that  no  shot  should  be  fired  except  in  return,  and  then  only  by  my  directions ;  and 
on  receiving  this  first  fire,  I  directed  a  general  fire  in  return. 

The  first  shot  of  the  enemy  carried  away  the  wheel,  cut  the  ropes,  and  mortally 
wounded  Samuel  Chaney,  the  helmsman.  A  bar  was  soon  shipped,  and  the  vessel 
steered  by  it,  but  with  some  difl[iculty  on  account  of  the  rapidity  of  the  current.  In 
a  couple  of  minutes  after  the  action  had  commenced  the  pilot  deserted  his  station, 
and  hid  himself  behind  the  engine-house.  Dragged  up  thence  by  Mr.  Potts,  on 
looking  around  him  he  exclaimed,  "We  shall  certainly  ground,  as  thei'e  is  not  suf- 
ficient water  in  the  channel."  By  this  time  we  had  run  past  all  the  guns  of  the 
battery  except  one ;  and  on  learning  the  state  of  things,  I  left  the  bow  gun,  which  I 
had  been  directing,  which  was  no  longer  serviceable,  and  took  the  deck.  The  pilot, 
whom  I  had  again  to  force  x;p  to  his  station,  in  a  high  state  of  excitement,  repeatedly 
exclaimed,  "We  shall  be  aground  in  a  moment,"  insisting  that  we  could  not  pass 
up.  The  vessel  being  then  in  ten  feet  water — drawing  nine — I  was  reluctantly 
compelled  to  back  down  past  the  battery,  exposed  to  a  severe  fire,  which,  from  the 
position  of  the  vessel  being  nearly  bows  on,  I  could  not  return.     On  getting  out  of 


596  APPENDIX  I. 

range  I  anchored,  repaired  damages,  and  filled  more  ammunition,  having  observed 
the  Paraguayan  war  steamer  "Taquari"  firing  up. 

I  am  satisfied  the  pilot  was  not  in  the  channel ;  but  in  his  state  of  fright  nothing 
could  be  done  with  him,  and  to  have  grounded  would  have  been  to  insure  the  loss 
of  the  vessel,  as  it  is  said  that  the  Paraguayans  have  at  this  point  six  thousand  men 
and  a  numerous  artillery  to  arrest  the  passage  of  the  Brazilian  fleet.  The  ' '  Taquari, " 
with  their  gim-boats,  would  alone  have  been  an  overwhelming  force.  At  3  P.M. 
weighed  anchor  and  returned  to  Corrientes. 

It  had  been  my  intention  to  attack  the  Guardia  "Cerito,"  where  a  gun-boat  was 
lying.  The  "Taquari"  dropped  down  and  anchored  there  for  its  defense,  which 
made  the  odds  too  great  for  any  hope  of  a  successful  attack  with  my  little  crew  of  28 
men,  and  the  armament  one  24  and  two  12  pound  howitzer  boat-guns.  Although 
so  superior  in  force,  the  "Taquari"  made  no  demonstration  of  following  us. 

The  amount  of  damage  sustained  by  the  enemy  it  is  difficult  to  estimate.  Mr. 
Bushcll,  the  clerk,  who  was  directed  by  me  to  take  notes  of  the  action,  states  that 
one  of  their  giins  was  dismounted,  and,  from  the  good  explosions  of  several  of  the 
shrapnell,  some  execution  must  have  taken  place.  A  battery  of  this  nature  exposes 
so  few  men  that  I  can  not  estimate  their  loss  as  veiy  great.  I  am  confident  that, 
had  all  the  officers  and  men  been  on  board,  we  should  have  killed  or  driven  them 
from  their  guns,  and  taken  the  battery;  but  I  must  do  them  the  justice  to  say  that  I 
saw  no  signs  of  flinching.     The  fire  was  slow  but  remarkably  well  directed. 

It  will,  I  hope,  be  evident,  from  the  preceding  details,  that  this  attack  was  as  un- 
provoked as  it  was  unexpected ;,  but,  following  the  dictates  of  prudence,  I  was  not 
unprepared  for  such  a  result.  It  is  not  a  little  remarkable  that  at  no  time,  either 
before  or  after  the  engagement,  was  any  flag  displayed. 

In  conclusion,  I  must  fulfill  an  agreeable  duty  in  bearing  witness  to  the  zealous 
manner  in  which  the  engineers  of  this  ship  supported  me  on  this  occasion.  Mi'.  Potts 
was  in  charge  of  the  deck ;  Mr.  Lamdin  of  a  division  of  guns ;  and  the  latter  assisted 
personally  in  loading  after  some  of  his  men  had  deserted  from  their  quarters.  The 
engine  was  worked  by  Mr.  Taylor  with  as  much  promptitude  as  on  ordinary  occasions. 

I  have  the  honor,  sir,  to  be,  very  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

William  N.  Jeffers,  Lieutenant  in  Command. 

Lieutenant-Commander  Thomas  J.  Page. 


APPENDIX  I  (Page  xxii.). 

MEMORIAL  OP  THE  AMERICAN  GEOGRAPHICAL  AND  STATISTICAL  SOCIETY. 

American  Geographical  and  Statistical  Society,  New  York,  May  11,  1S53. 

Mr.  De  Witt  Bloodgood,  to  whom  was  intrusted  the  preparation  of  a  memorial  to 
the  Secretary  of  the  Navy  on  the  subject  of  a  survey  of  the  Eio  de  la  Plata  and  its 
tributaries,  presented  the  following,  which  being  read,  was  adopted,  and  ordered  to 
be  forwarded  to  the  Secretaiy  of  the  Navy : 

The  American  Geographical  and  Statistical  Society  of  New  York  having  recently 
had  its  attention  called  to  the  great  commercial  imiiortance  of  the  countries  border- 
ing on  the  Eio  de  la  Plata  and  its  tributaries,  by  the  written  and  verbal  reports  of 
E.  A.  Hopkins,  Esq.,  for  many  years  a  resident  in  Paraguay,  and  now  on  his  re- 
turn to  that  country  as  United  States  Consul,  has  endeavored,  under  a  deep  convic- 
tion of  the  importance  of  the  subject,  to  awaken  a  spirit  of  inquiry  among  our  coun- 
trymen, and  to  turn  the  attention  of  our  commercial  classes  to  the  vast  regions  now 
opened  to  their  enterprise. 


APPENDIX  I.  597 

To  that  gentleman  the  Society  is  indehted  for  vahiablc  information,  not  to  be 
found  in  the  latest  geographies,  and  for  the  correct  delineations  of  several  rivers  and 
lakes,  not  yet  adopted  even  in  the  best  maps  of  South  America.  The  Society,  hav- 
ing given  as  much  publicity  as  possible,  through  the  press  of  New  York,  to  informa- 
tion so  valuable  and  opportune,  deems  it  to  be  within  the  proper  sphere  of  its  duty 
to  invoke  the  aid  of  at  least  one  department  of  the  government  to  a  subject  daily 
growing  more  and  more  important. 

The  late  political  events  at  Buenos  Ayres,  and  the  downfall  of  a  policy,  which,  to 
say  the  least  of  it,  has  been  destructive  of  the  free  navigation  of  the  Plata  River  for 
veiy  many  years,  preceded  as  it  was,  also,  by  a  similar  isolating  policy  of  the  cele- 
brated Dictator  of  Paraguay,  have  at  length  opened  to  the  commercial  states  of  Eu- 
rope and  North  America  a  field  of  commercial  adventure  of  boundless  extent  and 
endless  fertility.  Already  the  leading  statesmen  of  England  and  France  have  ex- 
changed notes  on  the  propriety  of  securing  the  trade  of  these  newly  emancipated 
countries,  by  pi'oposing  the  guarantees  of  a  full  diplomatic  recognition.  Our  own, 
as  we  fear,  has  as  yet  done  nothing,  even  for  the  very  governments  who  prefer  our 
friendship  to  that  of  all  other  nations. 

The  extent  of  the  territory  watered  by  the  Plata  and  its  tributaries,  the  variety 
and  value  of  its  natm^al  products,  the  anxiety  which  its  political  riders  and  the  peo- 
ple themselves  have  manifested  to  seek  and  establish  friendly  relations  with  the 
United  States  haye  deeply  impressed  the  Society;  and  it  desires,  as  its  first  and 
most  signal  effort,  to  obtain  the  assistance  of  your  Department  in  the  development 
and  successful  accomplishment  of  its  design,  to  make  those  countries  which  have 
had  no  commerce  by  sea  for  a  long  series  of  years  friends  of  our  flag  and  customers 
for  our  products. 

It  is  the  earnest  wish  of  the  Society  to  procm-e,  through  your  official  power  and 
influence,  an  immediate  survey  of  the  River  Plata,  its  affluents  and  confluejits,  and 
of  the  shores  that  are  washed  and  made  prolific  by  these  great  rivers.  It  is  to  ob- 
tain such  information,  by  actual  and  scientific  observation,  as  will  enable  our  navi- 
gators and  merchants  to  enter  those  rivers  for  the  purposes  of  trade,  for  the  ad- 
vancement of  civilization,  and  the  promotion  of  the  best  interests  of  humanity. 

It  must  be  well  known  to  your  Department  that  a  large  part  of  Brazil  and  Bolivia, 
all  Paraguay,  the  upper  provinces  of  the  Argentine  Republic,  and  a  portion  of 
Uruguay,  have  for  many  years  been  cut  off  from  any  direct  and  active  commercial 
intercourse  with  the  rest  of  the  world ;  and  that  the  productions  of  their  soils,  rich, 
varied,  and  inexhaustible,  have  been  of  little  benefit  to  themselves  or  to  those 
countries  which  most  desired  to  obtain  them.  It  is  needless,  therefore,  for  the  So- 
ciety to  enter  into  details  upon  this  branch  of  the  subject  farther  than  to  refer  your 
Department  to  the  fact  that  at  least  one  quarter  of  the  whole  of  South  America  is 
now,  for  the  first  time,  within  the  reach  of  our  enterprise,  offering  positive  and  far 
more  profitable  results  than  we  have  gained  or  can  gain  from  many  old  countries 
where,  at  a  large  expense,  we  have  kept  up  formal  diplomatic  arrangements,  and 
where  our  squadrons  ride  at  anchor  in  courteous  idleness;  older  countries,  who 
■warily  guard  their  ports  by  restrictive  or  reciprocal  customs  against  our  too  success- 
ful trade,  or  in  the  end  heap  up  balances  against  us  which  scarcely  the  gold  of  Cali- 
fornia can  liquidate. 

The  marts  now  opened  to  us  in  South  America,  by  the  change  in  the  government 
of  Buenos  Ayres,  are  as  yet  almost  without  limit.  The  commerce  of  our  country 
has  but  to  enter  them  to  be  enriched. 

The  inhabitants  of  the  countries  upon  the  upper  waters  of  La  Plata  have  for  a 
long  time  scarcely  enjoyed  the  comforts  of  civilized  life. 


598  APPENDIX  I. 

They  have  a  fine  climate,  they  have  abundant  means,  they  are,  in  fact,  wealthy, 
but  of  our  beautiful  and  useful  fabrics,  the  comfortable  furniture,  the  latest  and 
most  useful  agricultural  and  mechanical  implements,  the  clothing,  the  works  of  art, 
the  axe,  the  saw,  the  steam-engine,  they  know  but  little.  In  order  to  introduce 
them  into  those  countries,  and  to  bring  back  their  rare  and  valuable  woods,  their 
drugs,  their  hemp,  their  tobacco,  and  their  precious  minerals,  the  way  must  first  be 
explored  and  pointed  out.  Large  vessels  are  quite  imknown  in  the  upper  waters. 
The  small  trade  which  Paraguay  carries  on  shorewise  with  itself,  or  occasionally 
with  Buenos  Ayres  and  Montevideo,  is  by  means  of  small  water-craft  that  float 
downward  with  the  current,  or  slowly  re-ascend  it  by  the  aid  of  their  rude  sails. 
And  so  sensible^  are  the  governments  of  Bolivia  and  Paraguay  of  the  necessity  of  a 
change  in  the  navigation  of  those  rivers,  they  have  oiFered  large  bounties  in  money 
and  lands  to  whoever  will  first  ascend  those  rivers  by  steam.  On  good  authority 
the  Society  is  assured  that  any  expedition  undertaken  for  this  purpose  will  receive 
their  most  cordial  welcome. 

,  Your  Department,  then,  is  solicited  to  take  the  first  step  in  bringing  about  a  com- 
mercial intercourse  between  those  countries  and  the  United  States,  through  these 
internal  and  flmaal  avenues.  It  respectfully  asks  that  you  will  immediately  select 
one  of  the  small  government  steamers  carrying  about  five  feet  water  to  proceed  to 
the  upper  tributaries  of  La  Plata,  certainly  as  far  as  Assumption,  to  make  a  geo- 
graphical rcconnoissance,  and  a  hydrographical  sui-vey.  This  steamer,  being  made 
a  part  of  the  Brazilian  squadron,  will  not  require  any  particular  appropriation  from 
Congress,  and  the  Society  will  be  most  happy  to  procure  the  services  of  two  or  three 
scientific  persons,  to  assist  in  the  objects  of  the  inquiry,  if  the  Department  will  recog- 
nize them  as  attached  to  the  expedition.  It  would  also  engage  to  furnish  them  a 
full  set  of  instructions,  geographical  and  statistical,  as  a  guide  to  those  intrusted  with 
its  particular  portion  of  the  investigations.  Thus,  in  an  ample  and  economical 
manner,  one  of  the  most  important  and  attractive  subjects  of  the  day  would  be  illus- 
trated and  explained  through  the  Department,  greatly  to  its  own  honor  and  the  ad- 
vantage of  our  maritime  interests.  , 

Nor  does  the  Society  deem  this  appeal  to  your  Department  an  improper  one. 

Great  as  has  been  the  glory  acquired  by  our  navy,  noble  as  have  been  its  triumphs, 
dear  to  us  as  is  its  renown,  we  believe  its  mission  is  not  the  less  a  noble  one  when 
it  bears  around  the  world  the  flag  of  a  peaceful,  united,  and  happy  nation ;  when  it 
rescues  our  shipwrecked  mariners  from  the  horrors  of  some  desolate  or  barbarous 
coast ;  when  it  gives  to  the  American  citizen  in  far-distant  countries  the  "  assurance 
doubly  sure,"  that  even  there  his  property  and  his  life  will  find  protection ;  when  it 
convoys  safely  through  the  squadrons  of  adverse  and  contending  parties  our  own 
richly-laden  merchant  fleets,  and  when  it  curiously  explores  the  newly  discovered 
rivers,  the  icebound  inlets,  and  dangerous  coasts,  where  American  enterprise  may 
gather  wealth  in  security. 

These  are  some  of  the  services,  already  happily  rendered,  which  have  made  our 
navy  so  popular,  and  that  induce  such  liberal  appropriations  for  its  support  in  time 
of  peace,  and  almost  without  a  murmur. 

Our  army  when  not  engaged  in  war  sinks  into  comparative  inutility,  but  the  navy 
is  ever  on  the  wing,  the  messenger  of  peace,  of  commerce,  and  of  civilization,  our 
proudest  representative,  armed,  except  in  the  last  resort,  only  with  good  will  and 
chivalric  courtesy. 

Most  of  the  great  commercial  and  scientific  explorations  of  the  last  hundred  years  " 
have  been  conducted  by  naval  officers,  under  the  patronage  of  their  respective  gov- 
ernments.    England,  France,  Holland,  Kussia,  and  the  United  States,  have  names 


APPENDIX  J.  599 

on  their  naval  lists  which  have  gathered  their  brightest  laurels  from  the  peaceful 
fields  of  laborious  research. 

Our  own  government  has  distinguished  itself  by  its  admirable  coast-surveys,  its 
Antarctic  and  Arctic  expeditions,  and  is  now  directing  its  attention  to  the  seas  and 
shores  of  Japan.  In  this  latter  expedition  it  may  necessarily  be  that  force  is  to  be 
an  element  of  success ;  but  in  the  proposition  we  make  to  the  Department,  to  ex- 
plore the  River  Plata,  no  such  element  will  be  necessaiy.  The  small  steamer  which 
it  will  send  there,  where  one  was  never  before  seen,  will  be  welcomed  by  an  enthu- 
siastic population,  and  received  with  gratitude.  Eveiy  where  her  commander  will 
be  hailed  with  joy,  and  the  blessings  of  millions  of  Christian  people  will  be  showered 
upon  our  country  when  her  mission  is  proclaimed. 

Every  where  her  officers,  savants,  and  crew,  will  be  received  with  open  arms, 
and  the  records  of  her  exploring  parties  will  brighten  the  pages  of  our  commercial 
history. 

Our  Naval  Department  has  before  this  shown  a  similar  intelligent  spirjt.  The 
National  Observatory  at  Washington,  under  its  fostering  care,  has  already  become 
famous  throughout  the  world.  Its  chief  has  already  essentially  benefited  navigation 
and  commerce  by  his  profound  theories  and  observations  on  the  currents  of  the 
"ocean,  as  well  as  by  those  accurate  nautical  tables  from  which  the  mariner  learns  to 
trace  his  daily  course  upon  the  deep. 

In  conclusion,  the  Society  most  i-espectfully  asks  the  aid  of  your  Department  in 
carrying  out  the  objects  expressed  in  this  memorial,  the  scientific  exploration  of  the 
Eiver  Plata  and  its  tributaries,  a  proceeding  clearly  within  its  acknowledged  prov- 
ince, conducive  to  the  prosperity  of  an  immense  territory  that  seeks  our  friendship 
and  our  trade,  to  the  interests  of  American  commerce  and  manufactures,  and  those 
of  the  human  race. 

Shoidd  the  Society  be  so  fortunate  as  to  have  presented  in  this  brief  memorial 
sufficient  reasons  to  induce  the  Department  to  approve  and  forward  the  project 
wliich  it  advocates,  it  respectfully  suggests  that  no  time  is  to  be  lost  in  carrying  it 
thi-ough.  The  Americans  are  at  this  moment  in  high  favor  with  Brazil,  and  the 
states  bordering  upon  these  rivers.  Our  products  will  be  the  first  they  receive  under 
the  new  order  of  things.  Such  is  their  habit  that  whatever  articles  are  now  sent 
them  from  our  looms  and  factories  will  pi'obably  be  preferred  to  all  others.  Circum- 
stances greatly  favor  our  obtaining  the  largest  share  of  their  trade,  and  we  can  not 
doubt  that  the  enlightened  views  by  which  the  administration  of  the  Department 
has  been  directed  hitherto  will  continue  to  be  the  source  of  increased  prosperity  to 
all  those  interests  it  was  established  to  protect  and  advance. 

The  recent  appointment  of  English  and  French  diplomatic  agents,  now  on  their 
way  to  this  new  theatre  of  commercial  enterprise,  affords  the  most  positive  evidence 
of  the  propriety  of  the  measures  suggested  by  your  memorialists. 

All  which  is  resjjectfully  submitted. 

The  Hon.  'Win.  A.  Graham,  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  Washington. 


APPENDIX  J. 

NOTES  ON  THE  BIRDS  COLLECTED  BY  THE  LA  PLATA  EXPEDITION. 
By  John  Cassin,  of  the  Academy  of  Natural  Sciences,  Philadelphia. 

Philadelphia,  Novemher  11th,  1856. 
Sir, — The  collection  of  birds  made  during  the  survey  and  exploration  of  the  Rio 
Parana  by  the  United  States  steamer  Water  Witch,  under  your  command,  has  been 
received  for  examination  at  the  Academy  of  Natural  Sciences  of  this  city. 


600  APPENDIX  J. 

• 

This  collection  is  one  of  the  most  interesting  ever  made  in  South  America,  on  ac- 
count of  the  countries  in  which  it  was  obtained  being  so  seldom  visited  by  travelers 
or  naturalists,  and  my  impression  is  that  it  contains  numerous  birds  never  before 
known,  and  certainly  not  in  any  museum  or  collection  in  this  country. 

I  hope  to  have,  at  an  early  day,  the  honor  of  reporting  to  you,  sir,  the  results  of 
a  more  extended  and  careful  examination,  especially  of  the  many  remarkable  birds 
in  this  collection. 

The  volumes  relating  to  natural  history  have,  within  a  few  years,  been  completed 
by  two  European  expeditions  to  South  America.  The  more  important  is  the  voy- 
age of  her  Majesty's  ship  'Beagle,  performed  by  order  of  the  British  government. 
The  other  is  D'Orbigny's  voyage  to  South  America,  peiformed  imder  the  auspices 
of  the  government  of  France.  In  both  of  these,  the  natural  history  is  very  carefully 
published.  Your  collections  are  certainly  not  inferior  to  those  of  either  of  these  ex- 
peditions, and,  judging  from  the  notes  of  officers  which  I  have  seen,  my  opinion  is 
that  an  American  contribution  to  the  natural  history  of  South  America  can  be  made 
very  much  superior  to  both. 

So  long  as  the  condition  or  progress  of  the  arts  and  sciences  properly  characterizes 
nations,  the  publication  of  the  results  in  natural  histoiy  of  your  expedition  must  be 
regarded  not  only  as  important  to  zoological  science,  but  even  in  a  national  aspect. 
I  am,  sir,  very  respectfully,  John  Cassix. 

Captain.  Page,  United  States  Navy. 

The  collection  of  birds  brought  by  Captain  Page's  party  is  of  high  interest  on 
account  of  having  been  made  in  countries  of  South  America  little  visited  by  voya- 
gers or  naturalists.  In  fact,  Paraguay  may  be  said  to  be  the  least  explored  country 
of  South  America  which  is  readily  accessible.  Mainly,  of  course,  this  collection 
was  made  in  that  and  other  countries  bordering  on  the  rivei's  Parana  and  Paraguay ; 
and  the  great  distance  to  which  this  expedition  ascended  the  latter  afforded  it  an 
almost  peculiar,  and  certainly  a  very  little  explored  field  of  operation  in  natural  his- 
tory. That  part  of  the  collection  made  in  Paraguay  is,  for  reasons  here  indicated, 
most  valuable  and  interesting. 

The  expedition,  having  been  designed  and  dispatched  for  the  performance  of  a 
special  duty  only,  was  not  provided  with  naturalists  nor  facilities  for  making  collec- 
tions. This  omission,  however,  was  compensated  for  by  the  fact  that  great  interest 
was  taken  in  the  profuse  natural  productions  of  the  countries  visited,  and  large  col- 
lections made  by  officers  attached  to  the  expedition.  The  collection  of  birds  was 
made  under  the  immediate  direction  of  Captain  Page,  mainly  by  Lieutenant  Wil- 
liam H.  Powell  and  Dr.  Robert  Carter. 

I.  Raptores — Rapacious  Birds. 

The  collection  contains  twelve  species,  all  of  which  are  of  the  family  of  Falcons, 
the  most  interesting  of  which  are,  perhaps,  Falco  sparverius,  or  the  common  Sparrow 
Hawk  of  the  United  States,  remarkable  for  being  one  of  the  very  few  birds  tliat  in- 
habit the  entire  continent  of  America.  Numerous  specimens  of  Buteo  pterocles  and 
nigricollis  and  the  curious  short-toed  Falcon  known  as  Geranospizd  heviidacttjhs. 
Falco femoralis,\s,  also  in  this  collection,  a  bird  which  has  been  found  in  New  Mexico. 


1 .  Falco  sparverius. 

2.  Falco  femoralis. 

3.  Geranospiza  hemidactylus. 

4.  Asturina  cinerea. 

5.  Asturina  insectivora. 

6.  Buteo  pterocles. 


7.  Buteo  nigricollis. 

8.  Morphnus  urubitinga. 

9.  Morphnus  meridionalis. 

10.  Ictinia  plumbea. 

11.  Circus  macropterus. 

12.  Polyborus  tharus. 


APPENDIX  J. 


601 


II.  Insessores,  or  Pekching  Birds. 

The  collection  contains  numerous  beautiful  species  of  the  families  of  Parrots,  Jays, 
Tanagers,  Kingfishers,  Fly-catchers  and  others  of  the  groups  which  are  csj)ccially 
South  American.  Numerous  specimens  of  the  Great-billed  Toucan,  Ramphastos 
toco,  all  of  which  are  of  smaller  size  than  the  same  bird  of  more  northern  countries 
of  South  America,  showing  clearly  the  prevalence  of  a  smaller  race  in  Paraguay. 

Several  of  the  largest  known  species  of  Parrots  or  Macaws  are  in  the  collection, 
and  also  several  specimens  of  the  handsome  small  species  recently  described  by  the 
Prince  Bonaparte  as  Pionus  coralinus.  Of  the  gigantic  Kingfisher  of  the  South 
American  rivers,  Ceryle  torquata,  there  are  several  specimens,  also  of  the  Amazon 
Kingfisher,  Ceryle  Amazona. 

One  of  the  most  interesting  birds  in  the  collection  is  the  beautiful  black  Wood- 
pecker first  described  by  D'Orbigny  as  Picus  melanogaster.  We  recognize  the  fol- 
lowing species  of  the  group  of  perching  birds  in  this  collection,  in  addition  to  which 
are  numerous  others  which  at  pi-esent  we  have  not  determined : 


1.  Cyanocorax  pileatus. 

2.  Cyanocorax  cyanomelas. 

3.  Amblyramphus  ruber. 

4.  Leiestes  viridis. 

5.  Tanagra  striata. 

6.  Tanagra  cana. 

7.  Lophospiza  cristata. 

8.  Zonotrichia  matutina. 

9.  Gubernetes  yetapa. 

10.  Saurophagus  sulphuratus. 

11.  Lichenops  perspicillata. 

12.  Taenioptera  coronatus. 

13.  Taenioptera  nivea. 

14.  P}Tocephalus  rubineus. 


16.  Anodorhynchus  cinereus. 

17.  Macroccrcus  Brasiliensis. 

18.  Conurus  nenday. 

19.  Pionus  coralinus. 

20.  Ceryle  torquata. 

21.  Ceryle  Amazona. 
Eamphastos  toco. 
Crotophaga  ani. 
Crotophaga  major. 

25.  Picus  robustus. 

26.  Picus  melanogaster. 
Trogon  surucura. 
Cuculus  guira. 


22 

23, 

24, 


27 

28, 


29.  Piaya  macroura. 


15.  Ara  maracana. 

Among  those  not  examined  are  several  species  of  Saltator,  Molothrus,  Furnarius, 
Cekus,  and  others. 

III.  Rasores,  or  Gallinaceous  Birds. 
In  the  birds  of  this  group  in  the  collection,  the  two  supposed  species  of  Crojc 
known  to  naturalists  as  Crax  Yarrellii  and  Crax  fasciohta  are  labeled  as  male  and 
female  of  the  same  bird. 


1.  Columba  gymnopthalmus. 

2.  Columba  mcridionalis. 

3.  Northura  major. 


4.  Crax  Yarrellii. 

5.  Crax  fasciolata. 
G.  Penelope  pipile. 


In  addition  to  which  are  several  species  of  Tinarm/s  and  some  beautiful  specimens 
of  Penehjie  that  we  can  not  name  without  more  extended  examination. 

IV.  Grallatores — Wading  Birds. 
The  present  having  been  an  exploration  principally  by  water,  the  collection  con- 
tains numerous  birds  of  the  classes  that  habitually  frequent  rivers  of  South  America 
and  their  shores.  We  especially  notice  fine  specimens  of  the  gigantic  storks,  ^f|Jc- 
teria  Americana  and  Ckoiiia  pillus ;  also  of  the  South  American  Ibises,  Geronticus 
nudifrons  and  cocrulescens. 


602  APPENDIX  K. 


10.  Geronticus  cscrulescens. 

11.  Aramus  scolopaceus. 

12.  Vanellus  Cayannensis. 

13.  Limosa  Hudsonica  ? 

14.  Rallus  gigas. 

15.  Gallinula  crassirostris. 

16.  Parra  jacana. 

17.  Hiaticula  Azarse. 


1.  Ardea  cocoi. 

2.  Egretta  galatea. 

3.  Egretta  scapularis. 

4.  Tigrosoma  Brasiliense. 

5.  Ciconia  pillus. 

6.  Mycteria  Americana. 

7.  Nycticorax  sibilatrix. 

8.  Ibis  melanopsis. 

9.  Ibis  uudifrons. 
Numerous  specimens  of  Totamts,  Tringa,  Calidris,  and  Cliaradrius  have  not  been 

examined,  some  of  which  are,  however,  apparently  identical  with  bii'ds  of  the  Unit- 
ed States. 

Natatores — Swimming  Bikds. 

The  country  passed  through  by  the  expedition  appears  to  be  particularly  the  na- 
tive locality  of  the  Musk  Duck,  Anas  moschata,  the  parent  stock  from  which  has  been 
derived  the  domestic  musk,  or  Muscovy  Duck.  Numerous  specimens  of  this  bird 
are  in  the  collection  obtained  at  various  localities  on  the  Rio  Parana  and  tributaries. 
The  Black-necked  Swan,  Cygnus  nigricollis,  is  also  in  the  collection  obtained  far  up 
the  Parana,  thus  showing  a  range  of  locality  hitherto  unknown  to  naturalists.  The 
same  is  the  case  with  the  Flamingo  of  the  western  coast,  Phamicopterus  ignipaUiatns, 
previously  best  knoVn  as  a  bird  of  Chili. 

We  may  note  especially  also  fine  specimens  of  the  beautiful  Shoveler  Diick  of 
South  America,  Spatula  maculata,  little  known  to  naturalists.  Also  numerous 
specimens  of  the  very  handsome  Teals,  Querquedula  torquata,  versicolor,  ipimtiri,  and 
cyanoptera,  the  last  of  which  has  been  found  in  the  western  countries  of  North 
America.     We  recognize  the  following : 


1.  Phcenicopterus  ignipalliatus. 

2.  Cygnus  nigricollis. 

3.  Cygnus  coscoroba. 

4.  Fuligula  metopias. 

5.  Cairina  moschata. 

6.  Spatula  maculata. 

7.  Querquedula  torquata. 


8.  Querquedula  versicolor. 

9.  Querquedula  cyanoptera. 

10.  Querquedula  ipicutiri. 

11.  Rhynchops  nigra. 

12.  Carbo  Brasiliensis. 
18.  Podiceps  leucopterus. 
14.  Sterna  magnirostris. 


Also  various  other  species  of  Podiceps,  Sterna,  and  Larus. 
■  All  the  specimens  in  this  collection  are  in  unusually  fine  plumage  and  condition, 
and  form  a  very  beautiful  and  important  addition  to  the  National  Museum. 


APPENDIX   K. 

NOTE  ON  FISHES  AND  REPTILES. 
By  C.  GlEAED. 

"Washington,  D.  C,  November  25, 1856. 

Dear  Sir, — The  preliminary  survey  which  I  have  made  of  the  fishes  and  reptiles 
collected  by  you  in  Paraguay  fully  anticipates  the  expectation  we  might  have  enter- 
tained in  that  respect  while  you  were  yet  in  the  field. 

Of  the  fishes,  two  families  are  especially  well  represented — the  siluroid  and  the 
characini.  The  first  embracing  fis^hes  akin  to  the  catfish  of  our  fresh  waters  and 
the  sea-cat  of  our  coast.  It  is  especially  numerous  in  South  America,  where  its 
various  types  assume  diversified  aspects.     The  second  is  almost  exclusively  proper 


APPENDIX  L.  603 

to  the  southern  hemisphere,  since  its  northernmost  representative  is  an  inhabitant 
of  the  waters  of  the  valley  of  the  Kio  Grande  del  Norte  (Rio  Bravo),  and  southwest 
portion  of  Texas. 

I  perceive  already  several  species  entirely  new  to  science,  and  I  am  satisfied  that, 
on  a  more  critical  examination  of  the  whole  collection,  many  more  will  turn  out  to 
be  so.  But  the  accession  of  new  species  is  not  the  sole  point  of  interest  in  the  col- 
lection we  owe  to  your  exertions.  Its  study  will  touch  to  other  problems  as  yet  but 
little  understood.  And  first  and  foremost  is  the  problem  of  the  natural  affinities  of 
these  fishes  with  the  types  now  extinct,  and  which  have  peopled  the  waters  of  geo- 
logical eras  in  times  gone  by.  Next  comes  the  problem  of  the  zoological  affinities 
with  the  ichthyic  fauna  now  living  upon  the  present  surface  of  the  earth. 

I  could  readily  point  out  to  you  some  of  the  results,  cursorily  obtained,  were  I  not 
reluctant  to  write  fragments  of  a  history  which  will  make  the  subject  of  a  general 
report  to  you,  so  soon  as  Congress  shall  have  decided  upon  its  publication. 

I  have  a  few  words  to  say  about  the  reptiles.  There  are  but  few  saurians,  or  lizards, 
in  the  collection;  some  of  them  I  have  had  an  opportunity  to  examine  from  other 
sources. 

The  ophidians,  or  snakes,  are  well  represented ;  several  are  moccasinlike,  the  oth- 
ers belong  to  the  inoffensive  colubrida;,  both  of  land  and  water  habits. 

I  see  no  frogs.  A  series  of  tree-frogs  and  tree-toads,  however,  make  me  think 
that  many  interesting  results  will  be  obtained  from  theu'  investigation. 

The  same  is  true  with  regard  to  the  toads,  properly  so  called,  of  which  there  are 
several  kinds.  Their  history  will  fill  up  a  gap  in  the  natural  history  of  South  Amer- 
ica, and  complete  the  results  I  have  obtained  a  few  years  since  while  examining 
other  collections.  I  remain  sincerely  yours,  C.  Gikakd. 

Captain  T.  J.  Page,  United  States  Navy. 


APPENDIX    L. 

LIST  OP  MEDICINAL  SUBSTANCES  OBTAINED  BY  THE  EXPEDITION. 
By  J.  Carson,  Professor  of  Materia  Medica,  etc.,  in  the  University  of  Pennsylvania. 

Philadelpliia,  December  1,  1S56. 
De.\ii  Sir, — I  have  seen  and  cursorily  examined  a  portion  of  the  specimens  in 
natural  history  which  have  been  brought  from  the  interior  of  South  America,  the 
acquisitions  of  the  expedition  for  exploration  recently  under  your  command,  and  am 
impressed  with  the  importance  to  science  and  the  industrial  arts  of  all  the  informa- 
tion acquired  by  you.  There  can  be  no  hesitation  in  declaring  that  you  should  be 
enabled,  by  an  appropriation  on  the  part  of  government,  to  make  known  the  result 
of  your  labors,  and  thus  secure,  for  the  benefit  of  mankind,  what  has  been  deemed 
of  sufficient  consequence  to  authorize  a  special  commission  to  obtain.  With  the 
hope  that  you  will  speedily  be  enabled  to  proceed  with  the  work  of  publication,  I  am, 
very  truly,  your  obedient  servant,  J.  Carson. 

Captain  Page,  United  States  Navy,  Washington. 

CixcHONA  BicoLORATA  (Guibourt.  Hist.  Nat.  des  Drogues  Simples;  Carson, 
American  Journal  of  Pharmacy.)  The  true  botanical  source  of  this  bark  has  not 
been  accurately  determined.  Its  locality  was  supposed  to  be  the  West  Indies. 
Its  presence  in  the  collection  proves  it  to  be  a  native  of  the  interior  of  South 
America.  It  is  desirable  to  determine  the  true  plant  from  which  it  is  derived.  A 
good  tonic. 


60-1  APPENDIX  L. 

SniARouBA  OFFiciXALis  (De  Candolle). — The  bark  of  this  tree  is  analagous  to 
Quassia.     It  is  the  Simarouba  bark  of  commerce. 

GtTAiACUH  OFFICINALE  (Lin.). — Specimens  of  the  bark  and  resin  {Besina  gvaiaci) 
are  in  the  collection. 

Co>'TRATERVA ;  the  root  of  the  Dorstenia  Brasiltensis,  described  by  Guibourt 
{Hist.  Nat.  des  Drag.  Simp.'). — There  are  several  specimens  of  the  Dorstenia  enu- 
merated by  Martius  in  his  Si/stema  Materia  Medicce  Yegetabilis  Brasiliensis. 

Mechoaca>"s'a. — A  species  of  Mechoacan  Root,  probably  from  the  Piptastegia 
/)json!s  (Martius,  Mat.  Med.)  The  specimens  resemble  the  Mechoacan  Root  of  the 
United  States.     It  is  purgative,  owing  its  properties  to  a  resin  like  that  of  Jalap. 

Sarsapaeilla. — There  are  several  species  of  the  snulax  growing  in  South  Amer- 
ica. The  stems  of  two  species  are  in  the  collection,  but  it  is  impossible  to  deter- 
mine which  they  are.     The  expedition  evidently  opens  a  new  source  for  this  drug. 

Keajieria,  Rhataxt. — The  root  of  the  Krameria  triandria  (Ruiz  &  Pavon).  It 
was  first  discovered  by  them  in  Peru.  The  specimen  in  the  collection  may  pos- 
sibly be  the  K.  Ixina.  It  is  a  powerful  and  valuable  astringent,  and  of  value  as 
a  drug. 

ALSTE.E3IEEIA. — The  roots  of  two  species  under  the  names  Battatilla  and  Robano. 
These  roots  are  probably  demulcent,  as  is  the  case  with  many  of  the  species  of  that 
genus.     One  is  known  to  aiford  a  fecula  similar  to  arrow-root. 

ScHixrs  MOLLE. — The  stems  of  the  plant*v-hich,  according  to  Martius,  belongs 
to  the  family  of  Axacardiacej:.  They  are  resinous  and  heating,  possibly  useful 
as  a  stimidating  diaphoretic,  etc. 

Xan-thoxvlu^i  Laxosdorfh  (Martius). — The  stems,  under  the  name  of  Tembetaru. 
The  properties  of  this  plant,  like  those  of  its  congeners,  appear  to  be  stimulant  and 
tonic. 

Geexadtlla. — The  stems  of  a  species  of  Passiflora.  There  are  several  of  them 
mentioned  as  medicinal  by  Martius.     These  are  astringent,  etc. 

Jatheopha  ccrcas. — The  seeds,  which  afford  a  purgative  oil.  They  are  called 
Pinon  purgatiro.     The  plant  belongs  to  the  family  of  Euphorbiacece . 

Veebexa. — Two  species  are  said  to  be  emetic,  the  other  a  flavorer.  The  first 
goes  by  the  name  Berbena  carriotado  solidago.  It  may  be  the  S.  vulneraria  of  ilar- 
tius,  tised  for  the  purpose  indicated  by  its  name. 

RosMARrscs. — The  R.  officinalis,  or  an  allied  species,  apparently  R.  Chilensis. 

Rosa. — The  buds  of  a  rose  either  native  or  introduced.     Astringent. 

Salvia  {Sage). — It  may  be  a  new  species,  or  one  of  those  mentioned  by  Ruiz  & 
Pavon,  growing  in  Chili.     It  has  the  well-marked  character  of  the  genus. 

Eqosett:3i. — A  species  of  Horsetail  used  in  syphilis;  probably,  like  the  class, 
tonic  and  astringent. 

Rita,  Rue. — Rnta  graveolens  {officinalis,  Martius) ;  according  to  this  author,  every 
where  cultivated. 

Absixthitm. — Probably  the  Baccaris  triptera.     D.  C.  and  Martius. 

Mate. — The  leaves  of  the  Hex  Paraguayensis  (St.  Hilaire,  var.  obtusi folia  Mart.); 
an  interesting  plant  from  which  is  obtained  a  substitute  for  tea. 

Coca. — The  leaves  of  the  Erythroxylon  coca  (Lam.);  an  important  article  to  the 
natives  of  South  America  as  a  stimulant  and  soother.  It  has  been  placed  with 
narcotics,  but  its  effects  differ. 

Malva. — There  are  many  species  belonging  to  the  Malvacece  in  South  America 
{see  Martius),  whose  properties  are  demidcent. 

Pteris. — This  plant  belongs  to  the  Filiccs.  There  are  three  species  mentioned 
by  Martius,  viz.,  P.  leptophjlla,  P.  pedata,  P.  palinata.     They  are  astringent.     The 


APPENDIX  M. 


605 


native  namo,  Doradalia  cuspa,  is  given  to  this  medicine.  It  is  said  to  be  a  purifier 
of  tlie  blood. 

Elemi. — A  resin  from  the  Idea  icicariba  (D.  C,  Martins,  or  /.  altissima,  And., 
D.  C.)  It  is  a  fine  balsamic  resin,  used  for  the  same  purposes  as  the  Terebinihince. 
The  family  is  Anacardiacece. 

GuARANA. — An  astringent  substance  of  dark  brown  color,  in  rolls  of  various  sizes. 
Martins  supposes  it  to  be  prepared  from  the  extract  of  the  Paulina  sortilis.  It  has 
somewhat  of  a  chocolate  taste,  and  the  fruit  of  the  cacao  is  supposed  to  be  mixed 
with  it.  It  has  been  analyzed  by  Cadet  and  Batka.  The  latter  has  reported  the 
existence  of  an  alkaloid  principle  in  it.  It  is  stated  that  it  is  used  as  a  substitute 
for  tea  or  coffee,  and  has  somewhat  of  their  refreshing  eff'ects. 

Copaiba. — The  species  submitted  corresponds  to  the  Copaifera  coriacea  CHayne). 
It  affords  the  true  drug  and  may  be  of  importance  in  the  commerce  of  the  countiy 
explored  by  the  expedition. 

GuJi  angico. — The  product  of  the  Acacia  angico,  or  A.  pirema  (Martins).  It  re- 
sembles one  of  the  forms  of  Senegal  Gum.  See  paper  by  J.  Carson,  M.D.,  in 
American  Journal  ofJr'harmacy,  vol.  xvii. 

Bergajiot. — A  species  of  Monarda,  resembling  M.  Bergamii. 

MiXT. — Mentha  jnjKrita. 

Gnaphalium. — A  species  oi  Life  everlasting. 


APPENDIX  M. 


METHODS  OF  WORK. 


By  Lieutenant  William  H.  Powell, 


\IS/,Z'*I S/,z'*l SI,  ZAI  5'y  3-*— 3  0  2,  5'- 

s" 


?  0  2,5'—-*-/  5'/.J-*/5/,J'-*/  51.Z-*J5l,2  '**5 


SECTION   OF  ErVEB  PARAGUAY,  AT  ABtJNCION. 

(Scale  :  For  Tiorizontal  measurements,  i  inch  to  100  feet;  for  sotmdings,  1  inch  to  100  feet.) 

The  instruments  used  were  a  piece  of  well-stretched  and  waxed  cotton  cord,  for 
measuring  the  base ;  a  sextant,  for  establishing  the  ranges  and  measuring  the  angles ; 

a  watch  with  a  second-hand,  and 
the  float  (Fig.  F)  for  obtaining  the 
surface-current ;  and  a  lead-line,  di- 
vided into  feet  and  five  tenths  of  a 
foot,  for  taking  the  soundings. 

The  method  of  work  was  as  fol- 
lows :  On  a  line  taken  parallel  to 
the  course  of  the  current  by  the  eye, 
a  base  of  151.8  feet,  as  a  multiple 
of  50.6  feet,  which  bears  the  same 
proportion  to  a  sea  mile  (taken  as 
6075.56  feet)  that  30  seconds  does 
to  an  hour,  was  measured  and  staked 
as  AB. 


M^  afAdl  si'xb 


606 


APPENDIX  M, 


_.2__ §1,. 


-t J?. 


The  ranges  A  a  and  B  b  were  then  established  by  staking  the  points  (a)  and  (6) 
at  90  degrees  from  B  and  A  respectively,  and  B  b  extended  across  the  river  to  C. 

The  angle  BAG  was  then  observed=85°  20',  the  distance  B  c  measured  =44:. 5 
feet,  and  C  c  calculated. 

C  c  being  known,  the  points  1  and  2,  dividing  it  into  three  equal  sections,  and  the 
points  S,  S',  and  S",  marking  the  middle  of  each  of  these  sections,  were  fixed,  and 
the  angles  ASB,  AlB,  etc.,  calculated. 

The  i^oints  S,  1,  S',  2,  and  S",  of  the  line  C  c,  were  then  taken  up  in  a  boat  by 
means  of  the  range  B  b,  and  the  angles  ASB,  AlB,  etc.  (previously  calculated),  on 
the  sextant,  and  sounded,  the  intervening  points  of  the  1st  and  8d  sections  being  as- 
sumed by  the  eye. 

The  velocity  of  the  surface-current  at  the  stations  S,  S'  and  S"  was  found  by  anchor- 
ing the  boat  above  the  range  B  b,  and  dropping  it  by  the  anchor-rope,  until  the  stern 
was  exactly  on  the  range.  A  float,  represented  by  Fig.  F,  was  put  overboard  from 
the  bows  then,  and  the  instant  of  its  leaving  the  stern  made  known  to  an  observer 
at  (a)  by  signal,  who  noted  the  exact  time  of  its  passage  of  each  range. 

With  the  difference  of  these  times  represented  by  t,  3  representing  the  number  of 

times  50.6  feet  was  contained  in  the  "  base,"  s  representing  the  surface-current  in 

30  X  3 
miles  per  hour,  was  obtained  by  formula  No.  1,  s= . 

By  means  of  the  soundings  and  the  distances  on  the  line  C  c — the  mean  of  the 
soundings  of  each  section  being  taken  as  its  altitude — the  transverse  section  of  the 
river  was  obtained,  and  the  square  smface  of  it  calculated  by  its  subdivisions. 

The  surface-currents  s,  s',  and  s"  being  known,  the  velocity  of  the  mass  of  each 


section  was  found  by  formula  No.  2,  y= 


{Vs--[r+s 


2 


(from  Jackson's  "What  to 


Observe"),  y  representing  velocity  of  mass,  and  s  the  surface-current,  and,'  conse- 
quently, the  cubic  feet  of  each  and  all  the  sections  calculated. 
From  these  data  and  this  method  we  have  the  following  results : 
C  c  1815.1-^3=605     feet,  length  of  section. 


605    ^2=302.5    " 


"  half  section. 


The  altitude  of  1st  section =14     feet. 

"         "         "  2d      "      =42.6    " 

"         "         "  3d      "      =25.4    " 

Surface-cni-rent  of  1st  section  1.12  miles  per  hour. 

((  ((         u  9^        (1        2  30     "        "       " 

"  "        "  3d       "       2.33     "        "      " 

Velocity  of  mass  of  1st  section  0.56  miles,  or  3402.31  feet  per  hour. 
"       "     "      "  2d       "        1.28     "        "  7776.71    "     "      " 
"       "     "      "  3d       "        1.30     "        "  7898.22    "     "      " 
350618351.9,  total  number  of  cubic  feet  passed  per  hour. 


APPENDIX  N. 


607 


APPENDIX    N. 

POINTS  AND  ELEVATIONS  DETERMINED  ON  THE  RIVER  PAR^VNA. 


Lat.  S.  Long.  W. 

Martin  Garcia 34  11  40  5S  15  28.J 

1 34  00  3S 

li 33  53  00  59  00  31 

2 38  47  00  59  13  26 

3 33  40  00  59  27  28 

4  Near  San  Pedro 33  41  00  59  39  34 

4i 33  31  23  59  52  38 

5 33  15  17  60  15  21 

Rosario 32  56  44  60  30  04 

6 D.  K.  32  10  00  60  41  33 


Lat.  S. 

6|  Diamante 82  04  04 

7  i  of  a  mile  W.  of  Pa- 
rana— the  Bajada. .  31  42  54 

8 31  24  00 

9 30  59  00 

10  La  Paz 30  44  08 

11 30  10  21 

12  Near  Goya 29  07  00 

13  Bella  Vista 28  29  00 

14  (Jorrientes 27  27  31 


Long.  W. 
^  60  38  56 

60  32  39 
60  OS  25 
59  53  03 
59  38  42 
59  39  39.5 
59  21  20.6 
59  07  01.6 
58  52  51 


ASCENDING  THE  RIVER  BALABO. 


Lat.  S.  Long.  W. 

1  Santa  Fe 31  38  34  60  39  48 

2 31  21  24  60  50  27 

3 31  06  21  60  44  50 

4 31  00  48  60  4S  18 

5 30  52  58  60  44  44 


Lat.  S. 

6 30  46  18 

7 30  33  57 

8 30  13  48 

9 30  12  48 

10 30  10  50 


DESCENDING   FROM   THE  UPPER   WATEK8. 


Lat.  S. 

Estancia  Taboado 27  20  35 

Figaroa 27  42  33 

JIatara 28  07  14 

Estancia  del  Estado 28  19  54 

Sause  Esquina 28  26  27 

Fortin  Bracho 28  31  15 


Long.  W. 

64  OS  25 

63 '43  is 
63  28  58 
63  18  07' 
63  12  00 


Lat.  S. 

Navicha 28  43  08 

Doi'ia  Lorenzo 29  05  13 

Paso  Coria 29  13  42 

Monte  Tigre 29  22  32 

Paso  Mistol 29  16  03 


EIVEE   VERMEJO. 


1  May  26,  1857 

2  "    28,     " 

3  June  3,     " 

4  "      6,     " 

5  "    10,     " 


Variation. 
7°  32'  E. 
8"  42'  E. 

Variation. 


Lat.  S. 
26  44  45 
26  35  57 
26  21  23 
26  20  44 
26  17  09 


Long.  W. 
5S  41  32 

58  50  09 

59  06  38 
59  10  47 
59  13  50 


Variation. 

6  June  14, 1857 

7  "     19,   "    10°  53'  E. 
S     "      22,    " 

9     "      24,    " 

Guardia  Vermejo 


INTERIOR  OF   PARAGXTAY. 


Asuncion 

Ytagua 

Head  of    Lake 
Ypacaray. .  . . 

Tobaty 

Caraguataj'  ...  6°  51'  E. 
Est.  !S.  Miguel. 
S.  Estanislado  .  6°  56'  E. 
San  Joaquim  . .  7°  42'  E. 

Yhu 6°  50'  E. 

Caaguazu 5°  00'  E. 


Lat.  S. 
25  16  29 
25  23  54 

25  22  03 
25  15  26 
25  14  00 
24  55  49 

24  40  00.' 

25  01  49 
25  03  13 
25  28  33 


Long.  W. 

57  42  42 
57  24  42 

67  16  50 
57  06  05 
56  53  09 
56  34  47 
56  32  00 
56  05  09 

55  58  55 

56  05  35 


Variation. 

Villa  Rica 7°  34' E. 

Yuty T°4S'E. 

San  Pedro 

C'amgo 

Carmen 

San  Cosmo 7°  35'  E. 

Santiago 7°  04'  E. 

S.  Maria  de  Fu 
San  Jliguel. ...  7°  12'  E. 
Iron       Works, 
"Fabrica"  .. 


Lat.  S. 
26  20  16 
26  12  13 
26  09  23 
26  10  09 
26  51  52 


Lat.  S. 

25  47  10 

26  37  05 

26  50  05 
20  55  47 

27  12  30 
27  19  09 
27  07  39 
26  46  51 
26  31  59 


Long.  W. 

60  39  44 
60  37  no 
60  40  50 
60  38  00 
60  38  47 


Long.  W. 
62  58  00 
66  48  00 
62  34  30 
62  22  00 
61  49  15 


Long.  W. 
59  20  53 
59  29  57 
59  31  59 
59  39  03 
58  28  21 


Long.  W. 
56  30  20 
56  18  42 
56  16  47 
56  17  47 
56  14  21 
56  24  43 

56  50  21 

57  05  17 
57  09  24 


26  05  32   57  57  27 


ELEVATIONS   BT   BAROMETRICAL  MEASUREMENTS. 


Asuncion,  above  Buenos  Ayres 182    feet. 

Villa  Rica,  "  "     580.7  " 

Villa  Rica,  above  Asuncion 398. 7  " 


Wisner's  estancia,  above  B.  Ayres  . . 
"  "  "      Asuncion. . 


RIVER  URUGUAY. 


Lat.  S. 

Higueritas 33  52  25. 

Mouth  of  the  Rio  Negro  33  21  33 
At  Cerito  Estan.  "  33  18  38 
Mercedes,  Rio  Negro. . .  33  15  40 

Point  Diamante 33  10  40 

Frey  Bentoa 33  07  13. 


Long.  W. 
58  25  55.5 
58  25  37 
58  13  37.5 

57  59  40 

58  23  00 
58  20  25 


Lat.  S. 

Gualagnaychu 33  00  35 

Concepcion  del  Uruguay  32  29  32 

Paisandu 32  18  24 

Estancia  Campbell 32  04  45 

Concordia 31  24  44 

Salto  del  Uniguay 31  23  20 


328  feet. 
146     " 


Long.  W. 
5S  32  16 
58  14  55 
58  07  27.7 
53  10  06.7 
58  01  28.5 
57  59  39 


ENTRE  BIOS. 

Lat.  S.  Long.  W. 

Victoria  (Puerto  de  las  Sauses) 32  39  53  60  12  07.5 

Island  in  the  Palm  Riacho 33  14  28  59  46  46 

Gualaguay  (Bierto  de  Ruiz) 33  13  37  59  21  10 

City  OF  Cordova 3124  00  64  09  00 

"       Tucuman 26  51  00  66  00  00 

"       Santiago  del  Estero 27  46  20  64  22  15 


608 


APPENDIX  O. 


APPENDIX    O. 

METEOEOLOGICAL  OBSERVATIONS. 
EXPLANATIONS    OF    TABLES. 

The  barometric  and  thermometric  computations  are  the  result  of  eight  daily  ob- 
servations made  at  3  A.M.,  6  A.M.,  9  A.M,,  noon,  3  P.M.,  6  P.M.,  9  P.M.,  and 
midnight;  and  the  mean  ranges  given  only  for  some  prominent  places,  such  as 
Asuncion,  Buenos  Ayres,  etc.,  where  the  steamer  remained  long  enough  to  admit 
of  a  series  of  observations  being  made. 

The  direction  smA  force  of  the  wind  were  also  noted  at  those  times,  and  the  name 
and  strength  of  that  most  prevalent  set  down  in  the  column,  according  to  the  fol- 
lowing scale : 

SCALE  OP   WINDS. 


Number. 

Miles  per  hour. 

Technical  description. 

1 

2 

Very  light  breeze. 

2 

4 

Gentle  breeze. 

3 

12 

Fresh  breeze. 

4 

25 

Strong  wind. 

5 

35 

High  wind. 

6 

45 

Gale. 

7 

60 

Strong  gale. 

8 

75 

Violent  gale. 

9       ^ 

90 

Hurricane. 

10 

100 

Most  violent  hurricane. 

Similar  observations  were  made  of  the  state  of  the  weather.  By  clear  days  is 
meant  that  at  least  two  thirds  of  the  sky  is  unclouded ;  by  cloudy,  a  larger  part 
cloudy  than  clear ;  and  by  rainy  days,  that  more  or  less  rain  then  fell,  without  ref- 
erence to  quantity. 

Letters  are  used  to  designate  the  state  of  the  weather,  and  denote  as  follows : 
f.  foggy;  F.  thick  fog;  1.  lightning;  m.  misty;  q.  squally;  t.  thunder;  h.  hazy. 
A  *  appended  to  any  letter  indicates  an  extraordinary  degree. 

The  altitude  above  the  sea,  given  in  the  column  headed  Alt.,  is  that  of  the  river 
at  that  place. 

The  observations  at  Buenos  Ayres  were  made  by  Dr.  Kennedy  in  connection 
with  those  taken  at  other  points  of  the  exploration.  Altitude  of  the  observatory, 
sixty  feet  above  the  sea. 


APPENDIX  O. 


609 


o 

O 
O 


a 


a 


« 

O 
pq 

Z 
O 

P 
■< 

o 

pa 
o 

< 
o 

M 

C5 
O 

o 
« 
o 

H 
H 


^     M 


•siliaga 

0*0*                                                                                              ^                          D' 

9 

■urejjl'"^  1^ '"'                   tH  rH                                          r-»                               i-H                   rH                         r-(|C5 

i 

•XpiJl                     -MT-lrH                     T-(                     tH                     t-h                                                     T-lit* 

^ 

•^\0\                                                           THr-rH         rHTH               ,-i  iH  rH               rH  tH  rH         r.  rH  tH 

t5 

en 

"^ 

TS 

a  S 

rH                 e^  O*            r-<            i-l  rH                                 r,-. 

a 

iiaa^°''-':ccB<^'-''-i'°KH'-''°^i;v''^aW'^'°cotB!»>5HW,^ 

— 

Z  Z  X  W  H  ai  aj  c/i  c«  c/i  cc  cc  2;  Z  W  Z  X'  c^  c/3  fej  ?;  a^  12  a  c/2  W  K  fd  Z  1^'  cc 

•XI 

'XOM  00  t-QOC-.  CiOOt-t-t-b-OOC500050Clb-b-t-COCOt—  C;00QOCOt-QOO0CS® 

Ch 

-fCst-'MOrHCOOiCCOOOb-THe-r^ulODO^^O^T-'OiOOCOOTH'^CQ 

as 

a 

OOiO^t-t-QOt-CDe-b-Ot-COOOh-GOt-Ob-O^^Ot-t-Ot-OCO 

'-'■1                                                                  rHrHr-^i-lr-ii-iT-iT-lT-i-rHOqiyiClC^C^C^C^C^CqC^CQeOl         | 

< 

£ 

•  « 

^ 

:^  :::::::::::::::::::::::::::  : 

fco 

a 

:g  :::::::::;:;:::::::::::::::  : 

o 

h4 

:5  :::::::::::::::::::::::::::  : 

I— 

w 

•Oi 

•  CM 

iiA  I  '.  i;  I  I  *:;;::!;;!!;  I  ::;;:;;  1  ! 

<M 

Ir:;::;;::;:;;;;;::;;;::;:;;::: 

^  •  : 

Ph       S 

^ 

Od 

•.-•            CO 

•S5tm9a 

^  s  ^  v;    a  ^*                         s"  a    li 

•ttitia^ 

r-i        rH                                                rH  rH  rH  rH  r-t  rH                                           ICO 

■a"P[0| 

rH  rH  tH  rH  rH  rH         rH                                                     tH                                        rH                           tH         |0 

■■■lOl 

■T~l  T—* -r^  r-i  r^  T-<  T-^                                                     rH  rH  rH  rH 

T-* 

1 

T3 

a 

13 

a 

Cq               tH                                  r^ 

^ 

1 

£ 

M  ^  y  3  H  fq  g  h'  j^, « •«  M  <s  ■=  Z  a  W  "  W  -^  «  "=  '-'  a:  «  W  W  w  « 

P 

!»  Z  02  Z  Z  w  »:  tc  cc  aj  Z  a  a  H  Z  cc  rx  aV"  a  y>x  M  ai  Z !»          ?5 

■°1W|     ;^ia-#^010-T*-^'^0-t*lCXO'1'ihooiSi^l5*OOOiCOO«D<5cO         1        1 

B 

1     .1— h-eooql— ■^OOiCOOt-OCsOcMOOOCO<M^CMi-<OC10COCS 

^ 

■XBK 

•  O'OtOt-OOlOOlOOl-t-t-t-l-l-l-l-Ot-l-t-t-t-COIr-COCOCO 

."^j-^COr^Tift-COT-ft* t-C0r-<CMOOa)'XOOlCb-C500rH-^r-(OC0 

S 

a 

rHC^rHOOOCT-  C^'>»aiOit-COClC:t-t-t-'»CCl--t--lQy5lr-t--b-t--000 

O  =^0         CS         O         Oi 

•"• 

•  CC?)  CO        ffl        CO        o^ 

.^^apo,«^oot-a.c-.OjHg«3«oe;»g05Hg„^„ggggo 

. 

(M               O               f-(M               O                                  O               00                            CT 

5 

b 

O)               O               <M  CO               CO                                  Ol               ''T                           CO 

rH               rHrH               rH                                 <?!               CI                           <M 

• 

^ 

.00(>»COCM         O         '^triCOC^O'^        «         ClOOOrHlO               CQOCO    gj^ 

•OOTCOrH        CO         -^rOfOOOCO        CO         CMrHOOOO               COCOC^OCO 

J 

r".  cs  r.  o      ©      o  o  o  O'  o  o      Ci      n  ci  C".  ci  CD  CO           co  cr.  oo  -S  t* 
.iCiT^iO-^       CO       cocococoiCi£5       iJ^       OifiiaiAino           iSlf5lC<5lO 

•OCOtH        "^        OOWOOO        <M        OOOOC^CO             CO  ^  o -^ « 

•COOrH^C         CO         O-^^T**.  "^        O         b-CO(r:COb»b-               t-Cir-COOi 
•O-^TjlrH        lO         rHO-^tMlO-^        rH         O -1<  ffl  O  C^  C^               rH  kr^  iO  rn  cyi 

ol 

J      I 

•COCOCOCO         <M         iMC^rHrHOO         O         ClCOOOOOt-t-                 b- COCOCOlft 

•  corococo      CO      cococococoeo      co      <M(M(MO=i(yi<N           (Mi^joic-ioi 

1 

'     *     •  U 03 d.-' 

OS 

2J         Z23      Pi£;^^3n!»:s      J      :-:      Zj;4Xi:      o         o:u  —  >> 

> 


•a 


OQ 

<5 


89^ 


610 


APPENDIX  O. 


Q 


o 

H 

< 
to 

9 

o 
n 

z: 
o 


o 

H 

a 
o 

>j 

I— t 

C5 

O 

o 

O 

Eh 


o 

S5 


D^ 

^  ^ 

•B^iaioa 

s        S 

D"-!        „•-"-»■'                        J        J 

B      S_:_-"d-     _■" 

.2^^    a       6- 6-           s    a 

•msH 

1                                         rH             TH 

^HtH  TH                                  rH                                                           1?© 

•^PI3 

rHrHTH                     rH  tH        rH        tH  rH  rH        rHrHrHlrH 

••■10 

tH  iH 

rH                              rH                    |TH 

a 

»H                               cq 

«                                                                                   rH^ 

.a 

.2  « 
•So 

y  H  &^  "g  ^  W  K  W  ^  W  ^  c^^  K 
v5  ry5  ?i  >  5^  :z  iz  5?i  Is  ^5'  ^  «;  »i 

«. "! «. '^  .  ^  ^  *!  ^.  ^>  " -i  1  a: »: "!  •" 

Iz  Z  ^  ^  Z  !?;  cc  cc  H  63  ccj  oi  O  U  tzi  r/  a  H 

■ajiM 

C)iXC0t--t0i0O00:0t--0C0a-'lOOe0'~-THr-'OC-lTf'OC0(>lCDO-^-^O  1         1 

I-  t- 1-  t-  1—  1-  t-  1-  h-  b-  I-  t-  t- 

I-  cc  e-  b-  b-  I-  t- 1-  t-  I-  t-  CO  1-  k-  I-  o  t-  cc  1      1 

i-t  ■-—  C)  CO  O  't  re  CO  O  CC  O  '^M  o 

—  c:coo(McirHin-or}coc;eocoTf<criC:^ 

•XOK 

;r.  OS  C-.  ci  o  o  c;  cC'  cc  o  ci  CI  Ci 

oow.  OiCiCCcC'CoccaiCcciociaiCic/jciO'. 

t-rHOQTt^osCOcr-b-'^CjpOOb-rHClOSOin 

inin-*'*-*'*ininin-*o<oinw«3toi»io 

OS 

n 

J3 

■^•^-^-^Tf-^-^-^TfTjUCOW 

§ 

•^BQ 

r-lffim-*10«0t-0005OT-l<M«-<*10e0b-00C!OrH(SM^iat0l-00C:OT-  1         1 
T-H  tHtH  i-(  rH  i-H  r^TH  tH  TH  CM  C^  <M  C5  (N  C-l  (M(yi(M  (M  CO  rt  1         | 

^^ 

•-0          o              m 

00      o               t- 

b 

35               OJ                     00 

wi^                wO                       vj 

CO         CO                     CO 

gi 

«0--tH...^ 

.  CI      •  C^      •     .     •  C-T 

Cr3.-CO---CO 

.TH-in-.-^ 

be 

■^.■QO»»-(yi 

.  C5|      .  O      ■      .     •  O 

th    .    .(N    .    .    .in 

•lO'CO'*-"^ 

^J 

e-..b-...b- 

•  h^'t^'.-b- 

ift.'irS'-.ia 

•  in     in    ••     in 

b- 

•  in    'O    •    •    -csi 

■!tl..O.-.-)l 

.Tj<    .in    •    •    -cq ;    ■    • 

OS    •    •«     •    .    .in 

.c»     -co     •    .    •«© 

^ 

in    •    -oj    •    •    .in 

00*'C5'..O 

.CI    .CO    •.    -in 

r-l               r-(                     tH 

C-1         C^                     CM 

K     •      • 

•    •  p».  •  t*. 

s    •    ■ 

•    ■  n    •  a 

:  :g  :  :  :  :  :  :g  :  : 

..      g          .     g         ............         . 

6 

:  2  g  £         • 

J  c3 .2  OS          a 

-  gSS""' g---'- 

1       1          g       ^ 
s'"  3---  g--'  S'- 

fe               -^                     -R                t> 

ZJ           <               Q           M 

;2m;;«        ^ 

•Buraaa 

*5                                S  d"        D'D' 

d          a 

■urea 

i-H                                          rH        T-( 

i-frH                                                                        lift 

•'tpio 

T-lrH       tH 

tHtHtH              iH               tH                     tH              tH 

s 

•JIOM        THr^^rH^ 

rH        r-f  rHTH             rH 

;3 

13 

a 

TS 

■^                                              *a        tH-P 

rH    , 

eo<y»        ,                     «     ^        -W 

a 

.2  Si 

F 

Q 

fOo-o^HW^^^tiW^H 

;ZZZHJ=rH        p^  rH  fd^  Z  ;?;  J2           .  .^ 

a 

v 

;^'  cAi'  w  H :?;  ;^'  1^  ;^V:  ^i  ;^  «3 

■nfW 

T-ft-'COT-'COfc-QOlCOlOr-fOS 

«ooominco':o    "OcDrHooin    .oci 

t— t-cOb-t-.b-t-t-b-tr-t-O 

b-b-b-b-^eO      ■  t- b- CO  CX)  00  b-      •  b- b- 

ininc-.  b-OTH    -a  cn^^ta  o    .oth 

^ 

■XBM 

cacooocsc-.  cr-oc-.  t-o^csoo 

C35  Cl  Cs  Ci  b-  00      .  C5  OS  CT.  Oi  CI  00      .  OS  C: 

l-HrH'flb-crsO      -O-,  b-OsOopCO      -COIM                  1 

P3 

a 

wot-oosoio-^io-^-^?© 

in-*'*-*in50    •  ■*  If  rji  in  ■*  ■*    •■«-# 

Cl 

OS                                      -Oi 

^"^ 

Ol 

C3                                      ■(?) 

^\                                                                 1-1  1-'  T-i  r-* 

^intOb-CCCSOrHC1COTl<inOb-OOOsO 

*;     *i 

t-                                 o 

CO                     O         CO                                 CO  O  CO 

q     fc. 

O                                                     CO 

CO              rH      CO                      a^  Oi  a 

CO                                                          CO 

CO                     CO         CO                                  CO  CO  CO 

^' 

.     •  0-1      •     .      •  tH  CO      •     .      .  CS      • 

.      •  CM  r^c  C5      . -^      •  <=>  C3i  rH  Tji  OS      • -^  —  CO 

.   .i#   .  .   .ifflio   .   .   .s   . 

.     'rHCO-*      -m      --tCOCMCOCM      'COCOCO 

.      .C^      •     .      .QOO      •      •     -O      • 

I    'CMb-os    -CO    'ininb-coin    •cioo't 
•    .ininin    -in    -inowrHrn    .ino^ 

n 

•        -Vl        •        •        •THt><        •        •        -CTJ 

H-3 

.     .e—     •     •     •b't-*     •     •     *b«     • 

.    .  b-  b- 1^    ■  b—     ■  b-  cT"'  cy:  cr  CO    •  b-  b-  b- 

.     -ia     '     '     .iAiO     .     •     -O     • 

•    .intnin    -in    •inininom    .ininm 

•      -ci      •      •      -(MOO      •      •      'cD      I 

*     .incOOO      .O      .  OS -^ -^  ffl  CO      -COCOCO 

.    -fyi    .    .    .co<M    •    •    'la    . 

.      .-*COrH      .  rH      .COCMrH-^in      •  ■»1<  m -cjc 

"S 

:  :S  :  :  :S^  :  :  :S  : 

•     'C^lOb-      -in      -rHCOOCIO      .incOOS 

.    •-^'*-*    .ffi    -ocoTHinin    -iniMin 

J 

.      .in      .      .      .-#r)l      .      .      .CO      . 

.      •  C^  C=l  TH      .-rH      .rHOOOSOS      -  <rs  OS  00 

(M                     CI  CM                     C^ 

;>. 0 

:|  :|  :  :  S  :  :  :-s  r-csg  :  :  : 

g.>;                N            ..gg.g.g.. 
03    (J   OS               ■<            t     :  .^  .S    ^  C3    J   !h    5j 

t^o-jj        H     o^zt--Ke-g2.o 

.  ^-go. .  ^.  as  os2S;,.feg.a 
-  oSgfc--  „-  Ho-s'S'S.s^asS 

.Ss-^         oi     r-';;c3Q--.soS:o 

0! o   ■   :   •   •   ■ 

=:::::  "g  :.::  : 

fc' « — 1"'  i' 

:i:      <J                  <3              O 

o 


d 
o 


a 


1 

a 

2 

o3 

ia 

J= 

in 

CIS 

CO 

ja 

r-t 

^ 

U 

s 

P 

71 

61) 

N 

a 

< 

2 

a 

g 

a 

Ph 

CD 

«•-• 

Xi 

o 

a 

in 

a 

T-) 

ta 

OJ 

ca 

* 

"^ 

in 

s 


a 


13 


APPENDIX  O. 


611 


o 

05 

o 

Q 

< 

CO 

Z 

o 

M 

sa 
o 

)j 
o 

Q 

h-t 

o 

o 
« 
o 

H 
Ed 


•B]|az0H 

"?      .             ... 

4> 
V 

*nre>i       "'^                                      ^  ^^          th  iH           th                                 ^^ 

" 

.^pj.-j  1— 1        1— Ir-li—fT-HrH        tHi— (             tH                   r-ti— 1        THi-frHr- it-It-1tH        tH 

s 

■ilO                                  '^                        ^ 

o» 

«> 

a 

CO                               .                     CO                                                           _j 

z'  y>7-;  a  K  >  c>^  w  w  i^i  ;«^  ;s"  vj  ?^  ;>  cc  w  2i  x'  w  t»  K-  >  ?:  ;^ 

•aim 

■XBK 

OSC^COCOCOa0O5C0aDt-l^t-t-aDC»00t-Clt-t-00t--00t*0000l:^t- 

as 

n 

J3 

0 
C 

5: 

•oP-0000!:-CC00300t-«>t-OOt-00010iaoOTHT-ia>!0«5t-t-0 

0  C5                                                                         000 
CO  C^                                                                         CO        01                           CO 

-.Cbq 

5 

£ 

ici         Height  not  ascertained. 

0 
I    .<M    .    !    'COO    •    .0    • '.    .    ',    \    \    *    \    \    \    ', 

..-*..      ;<M  =>.      .§ 

;.■  CO      ;.■'  to  CO      •.■  CO      ••'•••••••••••••'      •' 

•      -CO      •      •      .  rH  (M      •      .  ,.H 

:  :g  ::  :gg  :  :o  :::::::::::::::  : 

CO 

IS 

i- 

.    •(»    .    ■     .colt     •     .00 

.     -O     .     .     .lOr-1      •     -O 

■  I  •*:::  0  to  ••■*:;••.■.■;.■;;:•■;;;  : 

.    ..^    .    .    .thcO    •    -  l^ 

CO                coco           CO 

2     '   J     .     I     !  J  o3   m     •     .     .'     I     I     I     I     I     I     .     I     I     1     I     1     I     I     I     ! 

1  i  ••  ■  ••i2£  •  -s 

t-i  t- Si   g  ^3  §-  s  .S::  s  5  s  i  s  ::  i  ::  s  s  3  s  s  i  s 

6 

a 

"IB  a 

1-1         rH               T-(  rH                     tH                                  t-t                                  1-1  tH  tH         t-h  tH 

tH 

T-" 

■■^pia 

T-H         rH         tH  tH               rH         tH         1— (  t— I  tH  »h  tH        tH               tH  tH                     T-h               rn  t— i 

■Jio 

T-l                                                                                     T— 1  T— ( 

CO 

T3 

a 

s 

a/g  '^  ry:  a  5  jj  -^  «^  a  w  ^  ^  th  -H  K  '^  -/  aj  .H  J;  a  a  -  s  "-^  -^  <^  c^:  .H 

55  >  Z  -/i  72  ?;  5^  -/i  X  02  Z  k  ryf  03  t/'  Z  Z  x  r/  ry;  ij  tH  J'!  W  Z  Z  Z  Z  v:  'A  ryj 

o 

s 

■tnw 

CC<S!3«00010000tCiOcOOCOOCOOCO!Ot-IOC-.  -*t-00tOC5<D-*00 

■XBK 

T}((>)l£5lCCOC01f^COOOT-HCOOOO(M»DO<MOOCO'nOt-C10i**CMr-'0»A 
C-.  C-.  C2COCOC-.  COt-OOCC0305t-t-COOOOCOODOOClC-.  CiQOCOQOOCiQOOOS 

— 

a 

If 

COh-CO->J<COtOtOl-00O.l^C-.  t-.0(N10C00010CC-i<t-T-ICOCOe01000tO 
O'^OtOOTjtiCtr-tOO'^tOQOt-tOOtOt-t-tOiaiOlfttOOlOKStOCOtO 

•^BQ 

■r-<THr-trHT--lT-tT--'r-ii-lT--tc^(?10^cqOi(>I(yi<ria^C^<:0Cf3 

^ 

CO 

§ 

^  :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::  : 

c^  *  I  1  I  •  1  i  ;  I  !  !  I  !  ;  ;  !  ;  ;  !  t  I  !  I  I  I  :  I  I  !  I 
■^ 

S  :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::  : 

■3 

>- 

S  :::::  i  :::::::::::::::::::::::  : 

T-t • 

10  '.:  1  ::::::::::::::  ::::::::::::  ; 

0^ 

d 
0 

■g.  i  =  ^  ^  i  ^  i  '  ^  ^  .  i  ^  i  i  ^  '  —  i  ::  ^  '  .  .  =  i  .  . 

3 

DO 

« 

u 

B 

to 

a 


a 
2 


z 


612 


APPENDIX  O. 


00 


P3 
02 


O 

o 
n 

o 

w 
a 


^1 
O 

H 

O 

►J 
<t! 
o 

o 
o 
hJ 
o 
w 
o 


3 


» 

o 


-^^ 

•B3pU9^ 

a           D'      a                                    IJ-: 

1 

■aiuy 

THiH-rH                t-ItH                T-t         tH                                                                                      TH  tH         tH                        lO 

li-H 

•-spia 

T-ItH                T-liH         rH         1-1  tH  iH  Tl  T-l  1-1  r-t  !-(  1-1  rH  tH  rH                iH         iH  tH 

O 
<?1 

•JIO 

00 

g 

^         ^                                                                        T-*                                                    -H                ,^ 

1 

a 
o 

.      .    c3  . 

r,"  >  oj  -r;  s 
*.  ?^  K.-  S  '■ 

1   " 

?;  fAj  >>'i^<>  rfj  -f.  t:  rrj  x'  frj  •/  ■/■■  ;i^  ^  ?^  5',  7/;.  c/j  Z;  S5  cti  X  t^  >  r/  '/.  a  ^ 

^ 

•oilM 

-js  IS  lO  o  o  o  5  o  ID  in  lO  in  ic  »o  "^  o  03  CO  to  lO  lO  lO  lO  o  -o  o  S  -i  K  o 

<U 

Comi-lT-IOt-inCCiOCOrHOCQi-tC^C-lt-C^OCOTHTJHe-t-mT-iC;  G^lcrs 

■* 

B 

■XBK 

cowoccoot-toooot-ootocci-i-t-t-t-oooooooof-E-tiaoSt-cc 

^-^^oeot-Ci^-■*^-CiooOTt^r-lt-^-oc5CQ(^^rHco<^^^-OTl^o:>omo 

,=1 

•iJua 

^^T-l7HT-^TH^rHrHrHT-H(M0505C^01rM(MC-TC^<yjM 

^* 

_j 

2                                               O                            O         00 

■< 

PE^ 

lO                                              T^                            \:^        Oi 

O 

& 

2    •    •    • 

(^ 

CM      .      .      . 

o 

Tt*        •        .        . 

O     'Up      •     • 

bo 

a 
o 

M      .     .      . 

CO 

CO     •     •     •     • 

c^ 

CO      •      .     •      . 

o    -iji     .    . 

hJ 

O      •     •      . 

CO 

Cs      •     .     •     • 

Ci      -CT)      .      . 

in 

lb 

in     in 

r/:)      .      ,      , 

-f 

O)      ■      •      •      • 

—      .  rH      .      • 

X 

rH 

o     •     •     •     • 

O      -CO      .      • 

"5 

-n    .    .    . 

in    •    .    . 

O 

CO 

:  :  :  :  :  :  .i;  :  :  ;  : 

§  :g:  :  : 

-H     •     .     . 

Tji 

o    .    •    .    . 

CO 

CO    -     .     .     . 

(M      .<M      .      . 

(D 

o    •    •    • 

'      '      *      '      *      *      '    IK 

1 

.  ;  :  03  :  :  : 

c 

u 

03 

•  HI     •  !^    • 

=                                     3           .E;            d        .S    ■S.Eig.E; 

S                                                    «               M               hJ           W      paKUK 

*63[ra8a 

a   -J   ^"  D*   o-                 a 

1 

•aiBH 

rH                                                                 7-<             rH  T-( 

Th 

■-^PIO 

tH        iH                               THr-l        1^             tH                   iHrHrH        T-t                   tH  rH  T-( 

CO 
tH 

•JIO 

rHrH                   iHtHtHtHtH             tH        tH             i-t                              r-(        rH  tH  rH 

o 

«        b-                                                                       1ft        "^                         CO 

T3 

CI 

a 

<^ 

Q 

T3W|d,Xia-3-^^T3HWraogKW;dg^fiHf£T3T=HW,^gn3^H^ 

a  s?  a  ryj  K  a  H  So  ?^  z  ?■!  -/:■  .•/'  ^'y.y.y,  >-  >■!  oi  ai  .x  w  P^  l^  ?i  Vj  >  fc  ^  J? 

a 

•miM 

O  O  rH  tH  (7^  r-  rH  O  O  O  'X  *^  O  CT  CO  t-  t—  CJ  CT)  C-T  O  in  'f  O  CT  «  M  (T)  O  O  (M 

rO  in  O  rH  t-  O  rj*  rH  rH  rH  in  O  in  ri  in  O  t-.  r-  in  t-  rH  in  Tl^  I-  t-  C^  cr  cn  CC  ^1  OD 

H 

•x^K 

t-t-t-t-COt-t-t^t-COt-b- Ot-t-t-t-OOl-t-b-COt-t-t*t-t*COt-ODt- 

inoin-i^rHcooh-b-t— t-rocot-'f(Xieoinino^o-:<MtO'^0'yicoooc~.  fM 

pa 

a 

TH  rH  ^  O  -rH  O  GO-CO  CiOOt-C3rHrHrHaiOO<yjCOC5lMCOCM(MrHOClOOClO^ 

o                        cs                         o           c^                    o                        c;  o  o  OS  o 

CO                                 <M                                  COC-1                            CO                                  05COCOC3(M 

■iya 

i-^C^COTjtincOWCOOOrHC^CO-^inOb-OOOOrHO-ICOHtiinOb-COCSOrH 
r^rHrHT-irHT-<r-rHrHrH(MC'lC^<M(MG^C^OTCqOTCOCO 

^ 

^ 

Height  not  ascertained. 

^ 

§  :  :  :  : 

a 

CO      .     .     . 

tH      .      •      - 

o 

CO     .     .     . 
o     .     ■     • 

rr*    •    •    • 

cc 

o    •    -    • 

3  ••  ••  •• 

hJ 

11     .     .     . 

CO      .      .      , 

s  ■  ■  ■  ■ 

X) 

g 

> 

PU 

m^--^-^..-^^^^^^-^^^^..  *^»^^^^^^^ 

§         • 

r*^ 

(H 


tH  ■§ 


a 

oj 

a 


EH 


APPENDIX  O. 


613 


CO 

•siiiuQH 

r-i 

3 

o 

area 

rH  i-H  r-t  rH                                                                                                                          T~\                       r-^ 

o 

d 

••ipio 

o 

^ 

••110 

iH                                        T-i  T-(rH 

-* 

■ 

^ 

T) 

rH         T-t                                                                                                  ^              ^               ^ 

to 

tH 
c3 

■e 

a 
a  2 

fHi-tfH                                                          w         &         « 

5 

•B  ;ii  »t3                                                              t3         "o         »^ 

S 

0&, 

o** 

n 

-/  rj2  ^,  >  X  -^  I^  /^  X  X  x  ^"zTi^^.  2i  5^"  z  ?;*  s  k  x"  td  >5  ;z  a  X  :^!  /'i  a 

■    , 

■aim 

CiCS'~OT--iOO«0-1^:OTH-r-({>j-r}<Tl<a>CsOOCrtC-.  b-COKttOOr-^lftiC^O 

ID 

iOiC^OOOtCOtOOOOOCO«'OiC*£^^«OOOOcC5b-000'-Ci<:0 

M  iTi  *.  O  (M  -^  lO  "^T  t—  ^  '^  O  w  O  CC  O  C-  O)  IC  t-  fM  M  ■^  C."'-'  —  ■»-'  -O  C.  '^ 

a 

•XBK 

O5SOOC0C0XC0C»0(>b-00CC00C0ClGCt-(X>00cCl--CrJl--00l--b-t-lr-t- 

o 

T---ot-'C^c^ob-ooh-oc^T-'ci'^t-<>iK:)ia"^oc~.  M'oiOb-ootO'^a) 

*• 

J) 

OOt*t-t-t-OOt-OOQOOC5CiCOOCOOOGOCOt-t-t-OOt-t-OOOOt-t-t- 

2 

a 

■H 

S 

- 

c^ 

B 

O 

•'S«a 

i-t<M«^iOcot-cociOi-c^cc^otot-a)aio  r-(?Tr^*tic^i-cr.  C-.  o 

3 

. 

y 

^ 

5 

b 

a 

M 

^  :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::  : 

S 

^  ::::::::::;::::::::::::::::::  : 

ja 

g 

5  :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::  : 

t- 

Ir- 

£■ 

02 

C» 

51 

0^ 

S 

CQ 

1—" 

D 

nJ 

i£^  ::::;:::;::::::::::'.:;:'.:::::  : 

^ 

a 

<i1 

a 

a 

o 

. 

" 

09 

g 

.a 

Z 

S 

O.-^^M--.^----*^^-^--------^^-^--.- 

a 

O 

S 

a 

H 

03 

53 

< 

.a 

■si[raaa 

j=^                                                          ,d 

S 

05 

Z 

2- 

i4 

•mBa 

tH                                                                                               rH                                          iH  r-l 

^ 

03 

■■ipio 

a 

? 

•■■10 

tH                   1— »                                   tH                                  t-<          t-H 

>o 

y 

> 

a 

"2 

^rH                               CO              O'                    '-I             '-<0'                                           "-I             ,H 

^ 

sa 

n 

§2 

8 

o 

g 

l£    l^-S      «^      «^1      31^„^'S,.co5'§<^,      ^«co=.      "Sl^-g 

irT 

kJ 

.S 

.5    C3    cjO'      .    >.M    o    cS'-'.S    =    >:•     .          =      .      .      .    «      .-rt      .      .      .      .rH    C3    B      .    cj 

<1 

o 

g^^T3a^n3'^^T3g:3-°aajiMKW-aK^aH«K'd-ciga^ 
>  73  ^  a  z  a  5^  z  ^  a  >  ^  a  v:  M  Js  Z  Z  Z  Z  Z  M  Z  Z  Z  Z  K  >^  >  Z  a;. 

s 

o 

E 

•oiiv 

C10-r-<COO^>n«iri'M-rMlC?TC:>COOCCCDl— lO-^OrHT-IC-.^OrHi-IOlC 

•.oioo-jt-i-ia-oinia^oOTfo-finifltsooooooi-t-t-t-i-o 

inTHcot-m>ffl'f^=;Ort!MCTcr,  a)t--i<T-j|^,--^i-c^-io-.  oo^~.  ►- 

a 

3 

t< 

•I«K|CJOCOt-t-t-t»XOOt-COC:OOOOO^t-t-l-OOOOXt-CCCOCCCC'C<:QOC-.  t-o 

o 

OOOOt-t-010r)<»SCOOOOOOOCOa5CiC-.  OOt-QOCSlOOt-tr-b-COt-t-tOOO) 

■^ 

w 

32 

'^ 

Ch 

rl 

■■£80 

rH(MCO'^lOOt-COC2  0T-'rncO^OO(—  C/:C50t--(MCO^LC«Ot-cro20T-< 

0} 

S 

T-«rHT-lTHrHrH^HT-(T-HrH(?l<M<Mol<M(M(MC^(MCqffOM 

^ 

c^ 

CO 

a 

2 

S: 

•IM 

•■* 

C3 
.2 

a 

.•g  ::::::::::::  ::::::::.•::::.;:  : 

a 

a 

J 

•  b- ■ 

•o • 

a 

t- 

in 

:§::::::::::::::::::::::::::::: 

a 

•O 

^ 

hJ 

•T-l 

:o  ::::::::::::::::::::::::::::  : 

1 

>^ 

■~~* 

» 

c3 

z 

ID  : 

2  • 

tH 

(3 

'^o 

>r 

- 

s 

=;<; 

614 


APPENDIX  O. 


Tit 


o 


n 


03 


Q 
O 

n 

o 
« 

Q 
at 

o 
> 

tn 

n 
o 

1-3 
<! 
O 

o 
>-] 
o 
« 
o 

U 


s 


^ 

M 

^ 

a 

.a 

K 

B~-                               fl' 

CD 

•aiBH 

TH  T-l                     tH  1— t                                                         T-H                     .^  ^_,  T-(  ,,_^  ,_H 

IS 

■^PIO 

t-ItHi-I                                 1-i                                 l-<T-t               rHr^                                        -M                     T-* 

12 

■JIO 

r-CiH               r-l                     THT-tiH               ■rH                                                     ,-(         -r^ -r^  ■,-{ 

te 

•a 

^                                                                       ^             WC^                   <?^        CO<M                   ^rH^ 

oS 

a 

§S 

& 

f-."".„-  r-r.^1-t°:--lr.:.:c  tm 

Q 

^aHH^^aKaK^^-axja^K^HHK^>^^^K^^^^| 

x'  Z  ?:  <5  2;  3c  cf ■  Z  ct  cc  '/■  V.  a  >^  ?^'  ?:  ?']  r/ ,/_  -/  r/  '/j  ^  ^/  o-j  a  ct  k  ?:  ?;  ^ 

■°m 

ts  O  to  CM  CO  CO  <=  O  •*  CO  1-  c-  C  O  tO  •-  1<  V:  ^.  O  ST  1-  O  ■*  i;  JT  c  t-  .-  -*  -s 

iC10iO:00«OtO<DiCiwO*-*lOOOy?t5iCtOOOO«?OiC'*»l^'^iOi^ift 

OOiO<riCQ01AGO<MK^OCOCOCOO'<#OCiOb-l— -t*T}1-^C^.  «D^.  tMt-«i-icO 

t-l 

•x«M 

QOt-t»OOOOk-l-t-t-OtOt-b-tCOOOOOOOO(-OtOOWK550«>t-l-OOp- 

COtO^Tj(CiT-'T-tt— (Mb-50T-HO'^(MCCjOt-C5tD'^l£^k— C^Clfc— COdt-^T-i 

OOOO'^OCS00O0500OOQ0t-?0Tllc©t-«0«0C0Ot-05C;OOOt-"C0 

CQ 

n 

K* 

O                     Cs                     O  era         O  O  C5                                                                                     O  OS 
CO                     <M                     CO  (M         COCOCO                                                                                     CO  <M 

■iua 

i-((NC0-*10e0t-00C5OT-i(MC0-*inob.00CJOrH(NC0-*ineCt-CCC5:O>-l 

i-(I-lT-l7-lrHT-<T-lT-lr-lrH(M0q(Moa<MI4  0qoi)0il(NC0C0 

*»      *; 

2? 

5      &• 

S 

S; 

bo 

13 

^ 

CO 

,_( 

m 

CO 

rt 

SI 

J 

s 

CQ 

<D 

g 

c - .--^..---.--.-..... 

6 

■sjiaiea 

<4-'  t.;                                       (.J                ^ 

■-' 

•niBH 

T^                                                                  T-"  rH                     T-<                     TH  T-H  r-*  tH  T-H                                       ,-(  t-ItH 

T-l 

•'tpio 

rHi-lrH             tH  T— ( T-(  iH        tH  tH             tH  t-(       tH  th                              tH  tH  th  t-i 

S 

■••10 

tH 

i-K 

\ 

TH                     T-l            TH^ 

:!^th                  '^    '-^a       a    aa                        "> 

a 

ll 

S6< 

Q 

a  ^:  ^  ■  w  -^  ?^  a  T3  H  T3  H  -c  [s:  ^  -o  ^/  ;^  :!3  T3  n3  ^  y-  '^  K  cd  i5  -«  ^ 
^!  a*  ti    ^  c/i  a  p^'  a  ^*  a  ^  -/*  ry;  >  ^  «:  c/i  x;  a  ^.  v:  r^  x  ix  x*  «.*  a  a :/:'  ^ 

s 

•niK 

fOOCO      •CO(MO'-HOOt-<MO'*OcririlftiyJniO-r-C^C~crtOOOT-'Ol-'^<M 

cootD    •cr)0^ot-cc><£'b-oiC'^iO'^"^iCi::^ijr:?rir5-^'»*'^TitirnoiOio 

H 

•IBK 

tOb-O      .l^r-COiI^COOOO-1— ICOOCOr-'lOO^'tCC^CCi-OT-iOO'riTt'OiySt-- 

^ 

t—t-tO      .iOt-OOlr-'t*0««OOCCCOOOrHOOOCCOi-(r--000000 

a 

CI                                                                                o            o  c.  o              * 

(M                                                                                                                    CO                CO  (M  « 

•jCuq 

r^C^CQTj<lO«Ot-00C.   Oi-ltMcO'.^iOOb-COCiO-rHrMCO-^ir^tOt-CCClOi-' 

rHrH-rH,-HrHr-'-r-r-'T-li-H(yiO-TC^C>lC-101ClC-lC-lC^CO« 

5 

£ 

CO                                                                                           (M 

^ 

©1 rH 

-* O 

2 <M 

Til la 

nJ 

5  :::::::::::::  :S  ::::::::::::::  : 

t- 

O r-i 

IM CO 

to  •'■•'■'••••  '• »_.::.:::.:  :.■.•::  : 

tH <M 

la t- 

«1                                                                                  <M 

>. 

o3 

3 

; so  •  ; 

:                                  2    »; 

04 

3                                               t-      b 

<!                                                        M      U 

_ 

& 

■« 


V5 

■* 

^ 

ja 

m 

,* 

S 

N 

o 

S 

,a 

S 

S 

3 

a 

0) 

a 

.s 

Q) 

a 

5 

CJ 

,^ 

£ 

TJ 

o» 

a 

(N 

3 
1-5 


c« 

g 

t^ 

o 

tuO 

O 

d 

s 

3 

a 
a 


CO 

I 

PQ 


P3 
15 


APPENDIX  O. 


615 


^ 


o 

O 

O 


a 


CO 


O 

o 
a 

a 
< 

03 

o 

Hi 

« 
O 

>-9 

a 

o 
o 

Hi 
O 


3 

00 


n 


•IIUIBH 

j: 

s                  _:           s   "               11      a 

■5 

•urea 

■r^  r^  r-*                                  rH  t-i                                  tH  i—t        rH 

CX) 

•'!PU 

I-H                  tH 

<M 

■■•10 

rH  rH        r-<rHr-(        r-*                     r-"  i— t  i-H  rH  rH               i-H  tH  rH  tH  iH               rH 

y^T-^        T^^^r-i                                                                              ^OOOtH 

•6 

c 

Q 

c/:  '/i  cc  CO  y^  S5  Z      ^ ;?;  ac  Ec  aj  li^  :2  ^  ?i  i!q  Ui  r^i  t'  H  >^  X  >'.  P^  >  :^ 

. 

■mW 

c» 

(£,CQ:3u^OlftCO         b- t-b-OOOO^t-t-Ob-tOCOb-t-CC'e-'^^t- 

ci'^'^c^fOOrH       ioe-oco-i'ocoo-*ta>'^t-^cr>«t— (MO-^tO 

■IBIM 

t*t-t-«Ot-00Ci         C;Cit-t-lr-C0COaDCil-l-00C0G0O;C0Cit^00C0 

(MO'^ocsoiC^      iNi:io«Dcoo:iC^c-,  cjoiamCTiciO'^TfTH-riX'iyjr-i 

•5 

t-iO(©aoasOlCS         OOt-b-tT-OOClt-t-OtOt—  rHOit-00(r-^fc-GO 

<M                                                                               CO  (M                                  CO  3^ 

'.Cbq 

^(MCQ'^iacOt-OOCiOi-HC^CO-fkO^t-CCOiOrHfMM-Trii^Ob-OCCiOT-i 

rHT-lr-<'r-i^rHr-'-rHT-HT-(O50^(yi<M<MCl(M<NCQC^C0C0 

< 

^ 

(M 

i 

'  T^ 

•o 

b0 

:g  ::::::::  ::::::::::::  ::;::  : 

jj 

:S  :::::::::::::::::::::::::  : 

•  tH 

CO 

•  m 

"3 

•  1- 

■(M 

•J 

:S  :::::::::::::::::::::::::  : 

^:  :::::::::::::::::::::::::  : 

3     • 

tD  m 

<D 

?  s 

=3   S 

&4 

Cl^m^^.--^..-...-..^.-^..^-*-^^^^^^^^ 

.&§ 

«^ 

•s^iraaa 

-t-j 

a; 

•aiBMl       rHT-4T-4                                                                  t-Ht-htht— irHjMrHrH             r-<        |(M  1 

-ipio 

■^                     l-H            T-l                              T-l                     T-1  TH  T-H  1-t                                                          1-1                                       1-1 

o 

■•■10 

T-l  T— I  r-'        1-H  tH                                                     tH                           .^               ^ 

CO 

■a 

'^<M^THr-»0^        ^                                                ,H^ 

a 

'^'TsT-^n-a     y                                -c^n^ 

-= 

n  * 

<N                                       ti-^^aWaW^                       rM             £l;at£] 

? 

II 

^      1^^^^^   l-g-g-g-S^   ||^^,„^^      -gl^ 

a 

1^  V;  y;  >  rx  ryf ;?:  ?5 1:  Z  x;  ><;  v:  V.  x  V.  x  '^  x:  >  ?^  ^  ?:  ?^.  x*  &q  W  y:;  ;^  'y; 

a 

■aijv 

o^cob-cr-coTHOcoorit-THOi^-c^^WirscocsOir-tOMocoii^ciocr-.o 

V 

|lft^-^ICi5r-.  iMOOT)ltMCOOT«WCBCOf-mmcOC5  0-.  OOOlftl-OqiCTfliyi 

H 

■XB;^!t-CDOt-Ot-OOOOb-OOt-CSCOCOOCOC500000000COCCCCt-OOOOOOC;CO 

<»COlOCO(MC:Ot-<yiMM-OiOOCiOT-iOt-0'^C50CO(M-»*t-i£^00 

■a 
o 

«0t-t-<»t-00C;iClOOb-t-C:i"^Q0G0Oh-O00t-H'ir5Ot-t-t-t-C0t- 

Ci                                           O  Cl                                     o  ^ 

lyj                                                    CO  tM                                            CO  <N 

•^BQ 

i-XNCOTriOtOfc-COClOrHO^CO'^iOCOt-CCCsOr-CMeO'^lOCC't—COOO 

■rH'r-lT-<'^T-li-lr-<i-lT-lTH(MC^(Mi:M(MC^(j:jCM<MQqCO 

< 

b 

i 

S  •■••■••':••::::;  t  :^  :::::::::  ; 

(« eci  ....;..:.  : 

a 

13 • -(1 

.-) 

on • h- 

»o • L-^ 

»- 

03 

1—1 c; 

m ai 

f-  ; '....'.'.'.'.  '.^  '.','.'.::',',',  : 

J 

t- 1ft 

<n                                                                         (N 

>, 

(S 

: £d  •  •  : 

d 

2 

d 

E^ 

t-                                                                                                              t.                  S 

-o                                                             «         -< 

M 

0> 

t-i 

ja 

u 

d 

o 

a 

p 

03 

^ 

OJ 

a 

S 

u 

d 

of 

Q) 

,o 

*^ 

3      O 


a  ?. 


1 

g 

i 
1 

o 

<1> 

JS 

•H 

•^ 

3 

u 

3 

n 

.i! 

a 

S 

Ft 

A 

0^ 

rr 

^ 

d 

H 

O 

1 

1 

Pfi 

P9 

S5 

^5 

616 


APPENDIX  O. 


3 


Q 


Eh 


Q 

< 
o 

o 
a 

Q 

<j 
o 

M 

H 

Pi 

n 
o 

ij 
o 

O 
O 

o 

H 


s 


o 


■63[IU9H 

t» 

0) 

•uiBH 

■APIO 

T-H        T— I                     TH  rH  tH        t-4                     t-h  tH  t-h  rH  rH  tH        tH  rH        tH  T-< 

•ilO 

T-tT-H        T-l        -iHt-It-i                   1-1       T-tT-frH                                    tH             tH             tH  rH  t-( 

1—1 

.9 

13 

•S 

5 

Z  v;'  >'.  a  >  >  B  S^'  S^'  Z  >  'y:  Z  i5  -/■  V.  P  >^  ?  ai  a  >  Z  /^  ?^  ^  i:^  tt'  CC  !K  z 

g 

ja 
Eh 

•aiw 

--0  lO  O  O  '^  O  -^  -i^  O  -r  O  C-1  O  C  iO  -t^  '-O  O'  C-l  O  CTi  CO  O'  -rf*  (M  o  O  Cl  (M  1-H  H- 

o  o  o  'O  «  to  ?o  lO  o  o  w  c::  -o  --o  :r  --:  t—  t-  t-  t-  'o  t-  tc  Qc  CO  t-  t-  t- 1-  b-  t- 

■XBM 

C-1— OTl*OOT-lOiX-1^00C:i-'t~OC-T-tO(r-OCOTHOOOCOC^O'<f 
l-l-t-l-COt-t-CCl-QOCCt-OOCOOOC-.  ajOJC-.  QOt-OOCi  O  OOiC-.  coooo: 

J3 

OOrHCOCC'^Ob-lOOOt-t-OC-.t-ClCC'^QOCOOCOT-IQOCOCMb-OQOtOiriCO 
CCClOOOt-OOOOOJOtjCOOOr-lOaDt-OOt-t-t-t-l-t-OOOOOOOb-OtSt-t- 

C5                                                                                  O           C5 

c!i                                         CO     <n 

•^«a 

iHo^ct3Tjno«5t-cooso^cMM-*isoi-ooo>OTHeamT)ima5i-(»esOi-( 

i-(i-lTHi-lT-lT-<r-'T-»rHT-ltMC^01(M«(M(M<M<MfflMW 

"< 

u* 

s 

c 
o 

o    •    ^    •■•••■••'•"••    'o 
o ;     •    -O 

05  •'  ;  ;  •  .'  .'  .'  .■;.':  •■  ;  •'  .'  '.m 
^  '.'''.''.'.:'.'.'.'•'.'■'  '."^ 

lO iO 

.....  CO     ■•••  C  lO 

:  .■  :  :  ^(M  ."  :  ;  rt_5.i 

.....C0...-C1O 

!    .    .    .    .  o    ^    .    ^    .  c.  CO 

Id 

QO -^ 

O 1— ' 

S    •••'•••••■•••••••  CO 

^  :.:  i  :  i  :  !  :  •  :  :  :  :  :  :  :S 

-f.-.-Oi-l 

»....oco 

;  !  ;  !  i  c-T  ■  !  ;  1 C5  b- 

Til      ....  01  Ol 

CO      •      .      .      -  Ol  (M 

o OJ 

2-  ^  ::::::::  =  ::  =  3  ^  ^  ::  ^  ::::   §. 

o                                                                           3 

_'r--'s '^s 

.1-1                t^                                QJ    O 

•siiaiaa 

«*-; 

1^ 

•aiwa 

TH  T-l          tH                                                                  tH                                  tH  TH                                  rH                                     t- 

•-^PIO 

tH                         tH             rH                                                            tH             rH                         tH                     o 

•■iio 

rHT^                           1-t        1-i  T-i  T-' -r^  T^  7-^         TH-r^rH                           tHtHtH               rH  tH           fc- 

tH 

•d 

a 

a 
a  <" 

ll 

^rHCO               CO                                              CO              "^                                                           ''^ 

frtC^*H                       •                   »rt'^                                                THC^t/-;^ 

cc  a;  Z  Z  >  Z  X  X  a  X'  Z  a  rx  z  >^  X  X  z'  Z  ?  X  a-j  x  z  z  a  z'  x  >  a 

s 

•niH 

t-<:COOC0iH»01C10»HC0t0-*c--)C0-^Cr)-KC0OOC-1C:C:'1"MTHC0T)l^ 

•XBK 

tor-.  OCOtMCDCit-TH.-MTJ^t^h-OOOCOOO-^OOClMTl^rilflOOO 
ODQOOiOiOOOOt-t-OOOOCOCOCCOCCt-l-ajCOtCl-t-tOt-l-lr-t-t-t-lr- 

1 

a 

cOTHcocoeotomor— coocciAocothoc-tcocoocooi—  c-ic-.^Hco^^a 

QOOOWlCt-iaOOOCBt-tOOI-l-t-C-.  C-.  OOt-t-OOCC'CMr-lOOiOOOOOOC-. 

C>                                                                                                                 O             c:» 

■-Cbq 

C'l  C-l  <M  <M  C-1  iT)  <M  CM  'M  C^  « 

^ 

£ 

«                              s 

a 
o 

h3 

^  ■  '  ;  '  '  t  ;  ;  :  ;  I  I  I  ;  ^r-i  ;  :s  :  r  .'  ;  !  ;  :  !  !  c  ; 

:• §    1  i 

• 

Xi 

r;; 

&; 

CT) 

<5 

G 

m 

o 

X 

s 

cq 

fl 

Oi 

o 

u 

QJ 

■s 

3 

a 

-^ 

o 

o 

n 

a 

ri) 

.a 

^ 

■*-= 

a 

3 

"■ 

OS 

t:  a 


3 

a 

-rt 

CO 

K 

a 

a 

a) 

.3 

O 

H 

APPENDIX  O. 


617 


iS 


Q 
14 
O 
O 
« 

o 

H 
Q 

CO 

o 

Eh 

-31 

a 

o 

o 

o 

o 

O 
O 

H 


•e^msa 

tM 

1 

■°!«a 

■J^I'IO 

T-<  r-1  rH  tH  r^                                         rn  rH  t-(               tH  rH  t-h  tH  r-(                           T-l  tH  tH 

«5 
rH 

••■u 

tH  rH  T— 1  T-*  tH  T-<                     tH  r-"                                  T-i  i—t  T-*  tH 

rH 

a 

"-^■*co<>im>                             ""^ 

"^      r; -a  t3 ''^ -d                           -o-oP 

Tl 

a  "^ 

rH     <y>           H     y^Lii^ay                 '^a&;^ 

a 

■2  b 

(SCO         rH^      c4             .^^^^-j^^w^      e^ec,^.^^^ 

if 

gfc. 

,.;  ,i         ,<  -9  T-i  t:  „  >»  -  S  .-;  a  a  =  5  c  ..•;  ,^  CI5 ,.,-  ,,•  -S  a  B  0 

a 

•y;  X  i/:  5c  X  >-  Z  P'.  a  i<;  a  /^  cc  Sq  y.  7;  ;<  ^  a  x  /"  a  a;  >  V.  cc  V.  x 

■miM 

■*-i-ie^<D«T-IT|IC10'*1000»!MlHO«COor:OM01CCOC50TflT)( 

t-Q0t-t-t-«=t-OI-»-»-l-(r-t-lr-b-t-b--^l-t-l-0t-«t-OO 

f-TflOCOOO(Mini?>'*COe-.  OO^O-r-Ot-CJCOOOOC-.  OlOClOt- 

e^ 

•IBK 

00C-.  COQOt-OOQOCiCOOOb-b-OOOOOOt-b-t-COQOOOt-WQOt-l— t-t- 

.-IC-.  -SltOb-t-OOTtlsoOC:  T-lh-!MOO-*>-'T)<(Nia^iam-*c:Tll 

a 

t-tS0C30C-.  05i-lr-IOOOO<X)C005000t-00000>C:OiOOt-«OtCOO 

r-.                             0           0  CI 

(yi                              CO           cooJ 

■Amq 

i-esiCO-^lOCl-OOC-.  C—  MCr:'*lCOl-Ci:0!0-r-(MCI5-<JllC«t-00 

r-'T-(THT-lT-*r-^T-'rHT-l<MC^(^(^l»MO^<MC-TC^ 

i\  £ 

s; 

— 1 0 0 

0 0 0 

s 

£M CO CO 

10 <>) 1-H 

h^ 

CO 00 0     .     • 

0 0 0 

^ 1< CO 

m 

CO 1-1 0 

ClJ 

►- 0 ^ 

<M CO IC 

1-1 

S  :::::  :;S  ::::  :S  :::::::::::::  : 

.cS O^I.I*.—      I 

•  a                    S                    0   • 

■£E g 1 

S.S                           3                            0 

•J  a                «                 S 

•Buraay 

«t-:<*4     *4-;                   t*-:««H 

■4 
•s 

■urea 

tH                                                                                                  tH               t-<              r-*               tH 

in 

•-^PU 

r-l        T-HT-'T-t             tHtHtH        7-HrHT-lrH        r-t        -j-trH        tHtH             rH       iH  t-i  t-( 

•■■10 

1-1                                  tHr-i                     1H                           r-l                                                     tH 

o 

^ 

CO 

o 

rt                                                                                                         ©>                                  «               Ha, 

T3 

coa                               e'co                 ^"^             T-ia.o:'.^ 

•s 

g 

■r^      .  .3    ~      .  a  rH      .a               rH  .g         "^    X^         r-T-l         .3  r-l ^.5=^.-      -^d 

S 
« 

^ 

Tj  ^.  fj  T3  a  -x;  -o  a  a;  a  a  ■«  S  ^  K  -^  o; '-'  -a  -a  a  's  ^  r/;  ■X'  fe ;?  ^:  ^  ■^  -d 
a  a  >  J^ z  /i  a ?i  -/:  •/ •/:  a > « ■/  x  x  sr;  a  a  x >  P  rx  /.>r.y.  7.  y. r- 

. 

•aJW 

eam-*oar-ii;^(MOcct-OT((Tt<(Mt3C3-*ooc-.  ■.o-*ic=^aiox  =  co1< 

a> 

t-t-t-b-OOt— b-Wt-^tOb-l— 1— t— ?Oh-t-t-«Ot-t-t-b-«COb-t— COb-l— 

lClC00(MlC«0O"^C0-^cr'*f/^i0OOt--tOr-ic0C^ll^C^C0T-*C^(M'—  tMlO 

X 
H 

•XBK  CO  Cst-CSCiCOOOOiOOOOOOCSOOQOCiOOOOCSOClOOOOXCOt— OOQOOC^OOGO 

r)<-OCOr-'-*r-rHO>n«5COi;5iair5t-rH-<:MC-.  -fO-.  'Mt-CiCOb-Tl<(-.CO<M 

a 

t-c£>oif^ir5«ooirib-t—  ooooooo«Oir5'^iciA«->5ot-coco«oiairioo 

C5 
(M 

■.Cbq 

rH(MCO"il<lC!Ot-COC-.  Or-C^CO-tlCOt-CC-OOr-rMCO-flOOI-CCCiOTH 

5 

b 

00 

^' 

rH 

lO 

fcfl 

g  :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::  : 

^ 

g  :::::::::::::::::::::::::::::  : 

i-« ,...•...• 

CO 

CO 

"S 

h- 

G^ 

ij 

t— 

as 

o 

OJ 

s 

a 

Ck 

s 

618 


APPENDIX  O. 


S 


(Li 


•situiay 


•U18H 


■-^PIO 


■■■10 


m 
a  P^  tf  ■/.  t 


C5 

"d 

u 

■d 

^«? 
Vj  S:  IS 


^    QJ 


CO 

tc  >       CO       <N 

■"m(M^^a7T|.^cs 
'/^.  y,  y,  y,-Ay,y.>y, 


■d 

■a    .    . 

'r,  Z  :z 


in 

.  o 


•>  '-O  lO  I 


■XBW 


H 


t 

m 


< 
O 

o 

Q 
-«! 

^; 
o 

M 

W 

CO 
P5 
O 

<! 

t-H 

c 
o 
>J 
o 
« 
o 

H 


•iBQ 


cr.  OOirHCNCOCCC^OIOOOOOOiOC-.OOOOClOOaDfc-OOQOOC-.COb- 


03  <1 

fe  a" 


=3  b 
03  3 


OS  ,^  -S  .'^ 

^ :-'  -E  J 

f.  h  2  Ki 

S  E  K  2 


■ai[ra9jj 


a 


■ui^a 


•^PIO 


r-I  r-t        tH  -T-H 


05 


CI 


CO  CO  .  CO  ^  C^         CO  ■  '* 

*'",/'-'-/      i^"  WW  J>eoffie,WW  m      ya 

'b "i3 H a's  =^ a" ^ w  ^5 a ^ -3 T3 -a e I? ro 'i; 'i^ '-^ T! -a •« 2; z '•- ? P ■« ^ 

ifSOitocot— cor/jocoi-tcoifSO^'^iOi-'ciaiOOb-crcooocsTHMioooo 

CiCr.  'X'OlCiCiOiOC5aiOCOt^OOb-OC;-rHTHOOiOOOOOOit--t--t--COCOOS 

c^ cofM CO      cooi CO  cyi 

r-«<>>CO'^OOt-COCiOiHC^CO-<#lO<;Dt-OOOSCrT-H(>-lCO'^lCCOb-OOC;OT-< 
■rHr-'T-'T-lT-lrH-r-'T-lrHi-lOlOie^C-lQ-TC-TC-lO-T'yigiCOCO 

Height  not  ascertained. 

o      '•     *     '*     '.     '      '•      I     I     '•     i     *     '     '     '     '     •     '      '     '      I     *      '*     '     '•     '     *     '     *     '     ^ 
o 

CO     i     '.'!'•*    I    •    I    •*••*•••    i     *.•!    I    ••••••    • 

7-{ I    !    '    '    I    *    '   ; !    *    '    !    '    I    !    t   I 

tQ      •••••'•■••'•'•■•'■•'■-'      •      

cr> • 

O     ••;••*■••;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;    ; 

«•;;•■;;;•;•;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;;.;; 

-^    •••••**•■■•    • ^ 

CO 

o • 

> 

o 

1^  _^_ 


•uiW 


•XBK 


■Xsa 


iS 


la 


APPENDIX  O. 


619 


CO 


Q 

<! 
O 

n 

O 

Q 
-0 
S 

:?; 
o 

h-l 

> 

PS 

w 

1/2 

m 
o 

o 

o 
« 
o 

w 


00 


■8}llU9a 

-      ^      ' 

•^                   v;        <*;                   ^     ^        v:<*; 

i 

Is 

■urea 

iH                         rH                     iHr-tlH                                  tH        tH               ytrt                                 r-i         jCO 

■■•10 

r-tTH        T-iT-HrH                   r^       T-f        r-l       T-t        r-t  r-t              r-l             tH  r-(       t-i 

s 

t-l                                                           IH       r-l                                                      t-CtH 

lA 

o 

/.'-N                                                                                                                O' 

I 

^^      «                                                     ^                  «      '''cq 

•d 

■o 

2t«      •«                                                  ^                 -o      ^-d 

a 

1 

Q 

~~''~'cc  1.5  >  ».  ?  P  ^  ?  t>  -y.  x  v.-  ai  y.  cc  ?  ?  ^  a  ;^  !il  V.  ;>^  ?  Z  Z  a  r/j  CO 

•OIK 

^ 

•IBK 

to    in'-atominiaiftioooinirsioioioiffliomirsimnmwioiboioinio 

Oi     OCOt-^lCCOTHTjfc.r-COCOi-HOCOO'^ir^r-tt-T-Ht-QCCOt-t-lrt^^-^ 

.a 

t-     Ci  00  t- fc- 00  O  T-*  rH  r-(  (M  r-<  CO  ■^  CO  O  CS  C;  Oi  ^  CI  t- t- t- QQ  00  fc- 00  Ci  d 

a 

O                                      O                                                            C-.               O  C-. 

•"' 

•.c»a 

i-Ht-IT-iT-HrHi-tT— T-(T-lT-l(MC^G^(MC<I01(M<M<?30J  CO 

; 

O                                                               O                                        O 

-<! 

*■ 

m                                     o                        lo 

&■ 

O         ...      .o      •      .      .      "O      .     .      •      .Kt>      'O 

o 

o 

o 

T* 

o 

■ 

CO 

CO 

CO 

o 

CO 

C3 

04 

T-t 

CM 

Ol 

nJ 

CO 

to 

CO 

00 

00 

.n 
cr 

in 

o 
o 

rH 

o 

r-l 

T-" 

"S 

g 

3 

O 
CO 

00 

•^ 

nJ 

T)l 

■* 

T(< 

■* 

■* 

CO 

CO 

•CO 

CO 

CO 

Ol 

=!  K 

cj     • 

o 

d 

so                                                ^  TO                   ^  .^        m 

§             1         .>§         .bg    s 

CQ                S           i^a           Mcc    c; 

•9^i"9a                                  iJ  v: 

■atBjjI                                         ■^                                                       th                                                   Ic^ 

'•^PIOl                             T-lrH                                       1— *T-Ht— 1                                                                   T— l-rH                                                T-lT-HCi 

•JIjIt-' tH  ■rH               r-fT-ir-i                     tH               T-(THT-ii-(T-frH               i-H         ■rHj-lr-lT-li-t                 cj 

1^                               tH                                                                                   "^        th                         COCCCO 

a 

?                  T3                                                y     -^               ■o-a-ra 

•d 

Mi 

■s 

gfc 

■« 

y;  5C  ?;  a  -A  /^  Z  Z  >^  >  'jC  ■/.'  '^■r'2'^-r.y.'^,'/:y.y.'r.'jy^.y,7:'^,>-/'./'.^. 

i 

•am 

-C  •>TOCrjO-C-1  -+►-■>«  CO  1.^  ,-  -^  0-*  •—  rti-S-tcn-CSCMO-^-HOC-lCC^ 

-1*  -i"  -r  o  t^  -i.*  ic  o  -o  to  ir;  in  w  Lt  -^  1-  ITS  o  lO  to  o  tc  L-^  1*  o  o  irMc^  '-o  to  !0 

t— ^'y)o-J'M^iC(Mc;oO'i^  —  •—  ot-io*coO'M-^co<x«:50o  —  ^oiir5:r^ 

E- 

■XBJ(;!0  OOIr-l:-t-C0QCWt-t-l-Ot0O-^c:;OOt-t0OOOt0t=t-t-t-t5O 

.-"■^C;  1^0(MtO(MC-.  COfMCOCiOOOcr.  Oa^-COIMK^COb-COrHCS^^airHr-icyi 

«     5 

OT-'O-rH'M^O^00C;OCCiC;T-tOT-'C^(MrHC-.  OrH(M0^C;C^T-<r-'C;O 

O                                         Cs               O         Ci         O                                  O         O               CS  O               C5 

CO                                         (MCOC-1CO                                  CQCOC-ICOCl 

■.c«a 

r-<ncOTl<100t-00  3-.  O'^OJCO-PlOtOl-CCC-.  Or-icMCOTflOOt-QOC-.  OrH 

T-HT-Hr-T-ir-^T— T-HTHT-IC^l>»CM<MC^GqCQ(MCq(MCOCO 

< 

£ 

§ 

to 

^ 

. 

r/> 

« 

in 

lO 

b- 

.lO  coo 

(M 

in 

(M 

CO 

•  in  c-i  CJ 

h- 

o 

■* 

o 

in 

•  into  CO 

o 

in 

T-< 

c^ 

CM 

.(M  r-to^ 

>j 

. 

00 

t- 

CO 

CO 

CO 

•CO  00  CO 

lo                             in      lo                 lo                     lo         in 

in 

o 

aj 

•    •i<--'.;.'o-(M.'.'co-...'co'.it; 

T(<       '.       • 

•      ■'^J IN      •  CO      .      .      .      •  r-c CO      •      .(MinrH      •      • 

d 

•      •  CO CO      •  Cl      •      ■      •      •  h- T-1      .      •  (M  O  to      .     • 

J 

;;'-i;;;;;;;(N-<M;|--o si.;inT-HCO.- 

••ci TH.(n....co.^..'co.-co^^-1''. 

CO                                               CO         CO                            CO                                  CO               CO  CO  CO 

>^  •  >^ 

>.••••>.•■••  .r?  ^-r.  >, t-. 

=3----»3----=KriS'a' a    ■    ■    •    •  a  „    ■    ■ 

.  ! &  ■  i  ■  ■  a  ■  ■  ■  's S)5 s,  ■ '  ■  s  ■  ■  ■  ■  Ss  ■  ■  ■  s £  ■  ■ 

gl3j                3                            t.S-^3                     JS                             sS)               2rt>^ 

0. 

^."S..^ -S-^^             B                ^^         "gas.. 

fe-  S--  g----ofedS3''-  >,----  feS'-  3,rg-- 

.E;    -3       .£;             ^.i:  §.£;           £             .>.&       1=  S  S 

«      Oi           «                    KCCUftJ               fa                    KM           KSM 

o 

00 

■a 
a 


o 

o 

o 

d 
o 


ri.     a 


01 


15 


620 


APPENDIX  O. 


a 


a 

H 

<1 


O 
K 
< 
O 

n 

£!; 

o 

CO 

O 

M 

H 
en 

n 
o 

o 
t— I 

o 
o 
I-] 
o 
« 
o 


•B5[lU9a 

Vh                     Ct^         c*-:  ««-•'                           ^  .^                                        .4  ,£3 

■B 

•ajSH 

T-H  T-t          r-i                                                                         1-^           T-t          T-H  tH 

t- 

•'fpio 

r^  rH       tH  tH  rH             *-t        rH                         rH  T-(       rH  T-(  rH             tH 

•JiIO 

tH                       rH                       tHt-H                              ,H                              tH                       iH  tH         rH  tH  rH 

r-f 

.3 

§ 

tip 
£^ 
i3 

(SI                                                                                                                                             05 

i;  'y-j  •/■  >  ?:  X  K  L"  a  /'!  a  if  x'  >i  V.  ■/  >  x:  •/  ^  ;?■  >  ti  r/  ry.  m  z  5^ ;«'  l«Vi 

■am 

Ol  -T*  GO  -r  00  "t  -w  -f  C-l  0  -1H  Cl  *f  X'  OC  -1<  C-l  C-l  ~  0  0  0  CC  0  CI  «  ^0  <=^  C  0  -^ 

•XEM 

«OOQOt-C10(M'^OrH'MaOOT*<MC;(/:)C»^COODClCO(MeOC^rHOOC«0  0 

P3 

5 

>---focoiomi<moooco(»o<»«o5eoct:ciccoo-i'oooo20T(Ht-,Hc-. 

Oi0C^00CiC0'^CCr-<cl(M^THClC;iHc^t-Q00000C-OCr-03rH0^OOOt- 

OOCSO                                               ClOCi                            OCSOC;OCS 

■^BQ 

rHG^CO-^iCCOt-OOOS  Oi-l(MCIO'^l£iOb-(XCsOiH(MCC'»*iftcOH-QOC:OT-' 
rHrHrHrHTHrHT-lrHrHTHC^C^(M<N<M(MO^<M(M(MCO« 

^ 

^ 

0 

5:' 

to 

§ 

CO 

0      '•      •CD      '•'.'■'■'.'•'•'.'.'■'.'.'•''.'.'■'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.'.      '. 
0      •      'C^ 

m    '■    '.^    ■'■'■'■'•'••'■'•'•'.'•'.'.''•'■'.'.'.'■'.'.'.'.'■    '• 
!M    ;•  1-1    .......    • 

0    '    '0 

CO 

.    ."^    .    .    .    . 

rH  '   .0 

CO    •    *rH ' I    I    *    I    *    !    !    !    I    I    .    !    ! 

CO               CO 

— 

O 

S 
S 

'■'.'•'■'■'■■'.'.  '^  '■'.'.:::::::'.'.::::::'.  : 

M  •  •  .s s g 

tu   •   •  0 b G 

-5        0                       .                  0 

ii  ^  tii  .•  s  i  ^  i  ^-^  ::-::::  -i  =  :: i s 

^^  '  -^^  '■''■'■'  ^'  ''■'■'  ^■', '■'■■■'■■■'■---■'■''  ■" 

a        S                    ;2;                 0 

■siiraaa 

«4-:«4H             ,4  t(H                        «tH         %H                        <«-;  ,c 

»4 

•aiBH 

rHi-(iH                                                tHiHtH                         tH                                          rH 

00 

''^PIO 

rH                     rHrHlH               rH  rH  rH                                  i~t  r-i              r-i                           r-*        r-i  rH 

CO 

'^0 

TH                                              tH  rH                                        1— 1  rH                     r-1         rH  rH  rH  rH 

^ 

a 

OJ 

I^  J^  ;d  ^ '/;  r/:  'X-  c^'  ^  ><:  Jif;  :^1  :^"  GO  cr:  >  ?^  >"'  ^.  >  ;^  c/:"  ^.  ?^  ^  r/  fe  :^;  ;^  p>  sd 

•°!K 

01  CC  rH  ?0  -^  =  (>1  «  cr  ^  1-'  1--  0  C-l  0  c?T  -r  ift  C:  C:  C--1  OC  tP  rt<  C--1  --r  l^  C'  ^  i-H  O-T 

■XBW 

n 

c^^l-^aDcoco<^^■^■^coeQTH^--10t^^-cot-oc:c:-co■rH^xc;coooocl^-^-^- 

•iUQ 

5 

b 

§ 
-J 

10 

« 

■3 

s 

m 

Tl 

CO 

<M 

m 

.d 

d 

0 

0 

'T 

CO 

to 

CO 

0 

fe 

a? 

ti 

a 

0 

ja 

B 

J3 

1 

g 

-^ 

0) 

hn 

fcs 

OJ 

^ 

^ 

« 

a 

si 

g 

,^ 

•  r. 

>. 

00 

3 
1-5 

C5 

^H 

m 

.d 

a 

00 

(11 

^ 

,a 

in 

a 

a 

d 

m 

rt 

a 

^ 

^ 

o" 

t4 

0 

a 

^ 

fc 

<«H 

Hs; 

0 

s 

S) 

n 

d 

OS 

a 

h< 

a 

d 

a 

a> 

a> 

^ 

a 

H 

0 

PQ 

a 

;z; 

3 

a 

.d 


APPENDIX  O. 


621 


in 

00 


Eh 


P5 

< 


R 

a 
■«) 
o 

n 

^: 

o 

a 

Q 

<: 

GO 

o 

t^ 

> 
a 

w 

ca 
o 

;; 
I— ( 
Cs 

o 

>J 
o 
« 
o 
a 

H 
IS 


00 

n 
I 

u 


■s^iuisa 

tM  <44 

>4 

1 

•aroa 

tH  rH                                                           tH               tH               r-<                                        T-"  rH         t-(  i-i 

Oi 

■•ipio 

rH  T-H             r-iiHr-t        th  r-i        t-i  i-H        t-i                         th             tH 

••■lO 

T-»rH               iH  tH                                                                        rHi—trHr-l                                        tH  t— I 

O 

T-t 

CO 

2; 

b 

''^     «                       ^«              ^ 

•a 
§ 

yS       -a                                 -a?                    w 

« 

Q 

a  ^  .X  3c  ic  x'  a  z  jc  ai  a  «  H  a  a  liVx"  x  ^  ^  i^  >^  £^  ii;  a  a  K    v.  >  J^ 

•niK 

ooooiOiaioiooiO'Coiam-o  ^o  o  o  o  -o  o  o  -o  lO  o  -o  o  o  o  o 

9 

'*COC2M1'OTCOTl<TtlO(nOT)<«3M!MC-.  Oi-tOin'JICOOOO-fO'MCCOO 

t- 

•XBK 

OO!000«C«0Ofc-OC0OOC0OC0t-Ob-t-Ot^t-C0t- 

t£  TH 

CC  CC  O  GO  CO 

3!a5ia^QOooiO(M»inc5i-<e(5tocci.'^o-He-.  TOirjt-c-.  o 

T-I  cr  o  —  o 

iJ 

^ 

t-t-t-CJ000005C500OT-lTHr-lC-.  OQ00000CiT-li-'C-.  C-.  OI-ll-IC.  SiOOlO 

P 

B 

3^                                                     Om                                  OClOCiO 

55                                                     CO                     (N                                  CO        <M         C.-5               <M                     CO 

•^^a 

>-CMco-<)<i«tst-00!r.  OT-cnco-<)<ioot-c/:c:c:T-(NeOT)iicot-!»0!=^ 

r-'T-HT-'r-t^^^^r-'T-(TH<M(M(M<^<N(M<M01(M'MCOCO 

.  1 

o                                             o 

<^  £ 

O                                                            ICl 

^ 

o    -o o o 



o    -o 

O 

o 

• 

CO    -co 

CO 

C-1 

, 

c 

a<l        ■  TH 

CM 

lO 

J 

•■/I     •  rs 

<x> 

t— 

o    -o 

o 

lO 

Tf      .CO 

-!< 

in 

« 

■r-f 

CO 

c: 

CO     -o 

CO 

»1 

J 

tH      .tJi 

•* 

■* 

CO      .CO 

CO 

CO 

, 

^ 

£  -o 

s 

• 

..g           .           .           .           . 

^  •§                   p.                          s 

^  >                    ^                  i         ^. 

i.|. ........ §........ g....s.... 

s     .9                                    a                                o                 0) 

23      S                                        tt                                    ip                   « 

•S3iiu9a|                 ^*        ^ 

•h* 

•niBy  1                                    f-*                                                                                               tH       tH       |ct5  1 

TH                                                                             ^^rH              ,_,,_(                                                        ,_,              y-ij-tj^y^              ,_, 

T-I  rt  t-itH  tH  r-l                         r-l       tH  rH        rH  tH  i-H  i-H  ,H        tH 

S 

rti                                                            d 

a 

-d                                                                 -3 

Mi 

ii 

s^ 

Q 

x'a5^^*^^!^'5T3'*'a'^'3a'5^aaa'aaaa''oBa!»'e'aa 

.c  vl  >  ?;  S'!  S^'  5^  X  T/:  z  or 

2 

z:  ■/;■  a  a  r/.  ■rr/.^y.'^.^.^.T-, ,-/  a  a  a  f. 

• 

-aiK 

■^•c^-^cco-^c^  -1-1*T 

'M  O  -C  TH  !M  O  in  <M  ■*  O  I-  C  M  ■-  ►-  ~  TH  oq 

OiaiC-*idOi.'t'""~^iQOiaiOir50K^'<**'^Tt<w^i^O?o-^toirtiiO'^o 

IfQ^c^ooo  —  :c-OCiOO^cO'^-oc:ci--^Tp-j<(M'*ia-^cr'Oi-':oa) 

H 

■IBWCSIOCOCCO  t-GOO'-Ot-OOOOS^cOlOOOO^JOCiSt-t-OCOCOOO 

C;t-CO'MOt-t-O^COOt-OTjtO(MOO(Mt-T-ic--t-C^lCb-t-C:  Or-<o 

pa 

^ 

C10-"1COT)((MOCOC1C-.  OiTH-.  COOOTH-r-(Jq<>lCOTHT-<rHOC-.  C-.  OC-.  CO 

s 

CiO                    o               ooo                                               ocoo 

•XBn  1'-'  ^M«-}lt;o^-oo^50■r-<^^«■*lO-^^-ccc■.o^c■^:^^-rlQOl-ccc-.  o 

"1                                                           i-lT-l,-iT-T-,-.^,-.^T-iO-lffliM(Na5  0-lCQ(Me3(MC(5 

< 

^ 

g 

■s 

^ 

t» o 

C-T 'O 

tc 

O CO 

tH CM 

J 

2 S 

l- 

co -^ 

O TH 

d 

o o 

^ 

CO                                                                 n 

•    •     •  S  OS 

i  ■  'Xi  :::•::::::«::::::::•••■  — 

3-C3C3 £ 

3        OO                                   &; 

s 

O         sJT.                                         < 

0. 

.g,.  -  ot .....,,  s 

£          ^3                                          = 

S       <S3                                ;; 

622 


APPENDIX  O. 


El 


Q 

K 
<J 
O 

n 

;?: 
o 

to 
!?; 
o 

M 
W 

oa 
o 

ij 

<! 
O 

o 
h^ 
o 

O 
W 
Eh 


58 


o 


^  sr^ 


■B3HU9y 

1 

•UIBH 

T-H            T-H            T-H            T— I  1— 1                     1— (                                                TH   T— 1            T-(                                                tH 

O 
rH 

•'SPIO 

tH        i-H                                                           tH                     tH                           rH 

■■■lo 

rH                i-(         r-4         T-i                T-H                r-Ci-'         tH  tH                              t-h  tH  rH  tH  t-I         tH  rH 

>i; 

--     :^               § 

-o 

c 

§ 

o 

Q 

B 

■mM 

ggS§§S22§?2§§gg§§§fe§2:gE2S!gg§§Sg§g 

SSgSSS§S{r^SSSf£ggfi^gSg§gg?gSggSg 

' 

•XBK 

s 

m 

^ 

S               OOS                                                     O                     05                         'oos 

C5 

■iVQ 

r-KSlMTtlOtOt-OOOS  Oi-i<Met5-*10tot-CC05  0lH(MCr5^ 

IS  h-  m  ifTi  e^  ^^ 

■rHr-lTHTHiHr-»rHrHrHrH<M(M(M(M  (MG^OIC^O^C^MCO 

— 

^ 

O^                                        C> 

■< 

b 

CO                                 »o 

^ 

CIS 

:S 

(?J 

•CO 

a 

•IM 

fj 

o 

:§ 

•+ 

•  ^ 

"" 

~~ 

"'" 

__ 

— - 





w 

(M 

•rH 

^ 

•  CO 

hJ 

■CO 

ri 

a 

->     *   OQ 

R      .   (U 

i      §  ^ 

u 

-        s  < 

PU 

's,,..^  s 

^      1  § 

"w             K    pa 

•siiraaa 

■aioa 

TH  rH  T-H  rH  rH  T"!  rH  r-t                                  r^ 

Oi 

••<PIO 

i-i  y-i  r-f  j-i                                          r-i             i-i        i-t 

b- 

•■■lO 

T-iy-^                                                                              T-t        rH  rH  rH  rH  rH        rH  TH        rH        rH  rH  rH 

rH 

<M 

a 

0-TO                                                            -                     rH             -a  13 

• 

CS 

c 

.sS 

•*                           I'i^H'*                                  "5               "'^ej                ®<N01-V;ji] 

Is 

Q 

•/;  >,  a  a  2;  5^  u  '/3  K  i;  5^  K  t;  a  a  •/  v:  a  ;^  ?{ z  S5  a  r/  a  >  a  a  i>.  5; 

•nijv 

10(Nt-OOCOOrH01C^r-OCTOlO-*-*OrHt-O^C-T<*000-l>OOCC 

-*oto^if;^ocot-t-50t—  t-^ooo^^t-e'b-oc^cotcot^'ocoeo 

-O  C-l  !S  O  05  CO  C-1  •—  O  O  •-=  CV  CC  CO  O  -f  C:  rH  O)  O  t-  Tl>  r/^  c.  Ol  C:  CM  to  O  O 

'H 

■XV]/i 

:D0Ot-b-l— t-COOOt— COOOt-tOt— 00t-0OCO00ClOiClt-t-00C;CCCOO-.  Oi 

b-THrl<iOCit_rHOTj<t-OCC'J=Ot-m03tOOO<niC-*rHiaiaoiOr-tOin 

I-. 

C^Q0CiOO0000000100C0t-OOfc-Q00000t-e-«0<CCsO'rHt-C0CS010S 

ca 

a 

OC500:)                                        O^-                                                            OC5 

'"' 

CO  cq       CO       (M                               CO  (M                                              00       (M 

•^va 

rH(yjC0Tj<lfHOt-Q0Oi  OrH(MCO'*10«>t-Q0050-rHCqcO'^10tOb-GOOiO 

THrHrHrHrHrHrHrHrHrH(Mcn<MCq(MCT(MOT(M(MCO 

*i 

J 

cq 

• 

■•5 

b 

CO 

50                                                                                                           ' 

& 

00      •      -lO 05      •      .      .      • 

(M      •      .iO CO      •      •      .      ■ 

bn 

^   :  iiti   :'.:'.:'•:'.;:  '.,~!,   '.::'.:::::'.:'.:  : 

g 

rH      •      ■  cq CO 

►J 

CO      ■      •  CO O 

i- 

co    •     .ir^ -^ 

lo    .    .<N    •    . »a 

o     .    •  c-1 (^^ 

1-t    .    ;lO "^ 

■.*    •    -co     .    .    I    .    •    .    I    .    I    !    -T-i 11*1.* 

CO               CO                                                                        CO 

cj             m        S^  d        <S        cS             fS        oj 

03 

o      ^,£:2S3       Sc^ 

Cu 

-E       &  cj       Ph       O           Oh       -g 

g       W    22    2    S       2    rf. 

CJ 

Q 


<a 


to 

0» 


< 

o 

a 

S3 


H 


APPENDIX  O. 


623 


K 


a 

Eh 


Q 
« 

o 

P3 

f5 
O 

Q 

■< 

Z 
O 

a 

CO 

a 
o 

o 

o 
>-] 
o 
« 
o 

a 


•fijtiusal 

•iiiBa| 

^piJ 

••■lo 

•a 
§  . 

a  d 

H 

Q 

.a 

•mw 

•XSM 

CO 

[3 

•isQ 

ij  1      ■» 

3: 

□ 

o 

as 

<D 

•snoiSH 

*5 1;                   jJ 

1^* 

■nrea 

iHrHrH                                                                 THrH                   tH  rH 

t- 

■'fpio 

rH         T-H  r-i  T— <                                              rH         T-H                     T-i               rH                           TH               t-h 

o 

tH 

•JIO 

rH                                    THT-*r-tTH        rH        rH  tH  rH                         r^  j-^                   r-i  r^        y-i 

rH 

T3 

o 

a 
o 

£ 
Q 

m                 ^                 ■* 

aw                m    ^          lOo    aa     o       au!    w 
^  5^  ?^  ?^  z ;?;  X  ^  i3  z :?:  :£]  a  5^  ;^1  a  ^  z!  >  ?^' '/;  a^  ^  x!  >^  a  t:  p^  •/» ;?:  y 

S 

•aiK 

•XBM 

COa000CO00c:Q000t-'-O00CDC»00t-t*00a)(»COt-t-00C.  OOt-t-OOb-0000 

cr)5000COCOt-COCiOQOOOC--Cr-OOQDClOOt-«Ob-OOOOC>OCsOS00050iOS 

C^                   ,                               CO  CI                                                                                CO         <M 

■xoa 

TH(MCO'*lft«Ot-OOClOi-<C^CO-^iOOt-COClOTH(?lCOTflOOI-COCJOi-' 
THi-(T-Hr-(i-'T-<T--i-lr-'TH(M(yj(MC^O^CM(MC<»(MC^COCO 

— 

£ 

s                                s 

Si 

ci5  ^  :  '.  !  ;  '  ;  •  !  "  I  '.  1  o  t  ;  :  CO  ■  I  t  :  c«  "  I  1  '  ^  ^  ^ 

G^ CO      •     -      '(M      •      -      •     *-r-t 

CO    '•'•'■'.'■'■'•'•'•'•'•'•'■  r)    '■'.'■  en    '•'■'■'.  a>    '•'••'•'•'•    '• 
lo in    ■    •    -lo    •    •    •    -lo 

"S 

•^ o    •.■■*•••    •«) 

rH      ...........      ..O      ;•      -rH      ...      -O       ..•..•       • 

CO    !    .    I    !    *    .    !    I    I    !    I    '    t  oi    *    t    i  'o    •    t    '    •  "^    ^    '    •    •    •    •    • 

CO     ............     .(ji     ..     .CO     •.•     -in     •••;.;     ; 

-ji  ;:;;:;■.!;■.:!!  -)i  '  ^  '-»<•'••■*••••'■  • 

CO CO    •    •    -co    •    .    •    -co 

S a    •    •    •    •  o 

U                                                                                         ■                       H                             4) 
-^                                                                                     ^                     <                            > 

3                                                                        S                   »                       £ 

624 


APPENDIX  O. 


o 

H 
O 
O 


CO 

« 

<3 
c« 
O 
12: 

n 
< 

m 

o 

I 

H 
cc 
C5 
O 

>J 

o 

o 
>^ 
o 
« 
o 
w 

Eh 


PS 


si 

a 

PS 

a 
'3 

P5 

•t~i        y^                                                                             ri       i-HiH       rH                                    rH  rH 

00 

® 

•a 

s 

3 

Tl                               ,-t  ,-t  rl  r^  tH        iH                                                     ^ 

CO 

0 

tH        rH       rH,H        rHrHrHiHiH                                                     r-t       tHtHiHtHtH 

TH 

a 

0 

g 
(5 

r.  z  a  ii  7/,  ryf  rjn  i^"  ^  ;^  a  z'  z  K  H  B  •/  't:  v":  w  iz  cc  z  K  iz  i?^^  >-!  X  ;=;  a 

i 

1 

i 

X 

4) 

1 

CQ 

s 

•s 

a 

c 

■^C5O"**^'^rHOrJ*C-TT--'O"^C^00«-T'WT}ioC0C0OCCr-<CiMC000O00b-CC 
<K  O)  b-  Tt<  ■— .  rH  (jq  i-(  rH  0  0  0  C-.  0  0  CS  CC  C~.  0  C;  C^  CC'  CC  CC'  Ci  CV  C-.  C/:-  O)  CI  CI 

Ci  0  C>  cr-  C5  0  0  O'  0  0  0  0  (?i  Ci  0  0  Ci  (^  0  C:  Ci  Cr.  Ci  C:  0  Cv'  ci  ci  ci  C:  ci 

■3 

C-" 

i-H(y»MTt4inot-ooosOrHc-i«-»toot-'y)ciOrHoicoTf*io'Ob-cociOi-i 

i-»i-(r-(rHTHTHT-ir-<rHi-iCNCq<MC^(MC<IC'l<M<M<MWM 

1^ 

1 

at 

'S 

rH                                                     tHtH                      .                   rH                                    rH 

10 

0 

T^                   rHiH        rHrH                                               tH       rH             tH 

00 

CD 

0 

rHrHrH             rH     '                   rH  rH  rH  rH  rH  rH                   rHrH        rHrH       ,h  rH  rH 

.s 

1 

B 

C 

1 
5 

ID 

1 

s 

1 

c 
0 

CQ 

r-.  r.  ^-  0  =  — .  0  0  C  c:  r;  CI  C:  C;  C.  Cs  C;  C5  CS  C-  Ci  C-.  ^.  C5  Ci  C5  Ci  0  0  Ci 

TH(Mm-*1050t-OOOVOrH(MCf:-)<lCtOl-CCOJOT-l(NmT|llOtOt-C0050 
iHT-<i-lr-l7-lr-lrHrirHi-(0^eaiMC>)e^SqfflO5<?10JCI5 

^ 


,4 


a 

o 


H 


o 
■a 
a 


JO. 

•c 


cs 

tH 

o 

a 


I 


<!    3 


s 


H 

Vs 

rt 

S 

03 

.Q 

a 

r3  at 

1 

-^  3 

0 

! 

1 

05    0 

."S 

M 

^ 

oj 

o'-° 

0 

en 

a 

0 

"--^    ?, 

i^ 

a 

^h 

Tl 

•a 

03 

1 

^ 

a  «i 

fl 

^ 

5s  ■« 

0 

C   03 

0 

a 

03 

So- 

^ 

g 

■"0 

S  "> 

•% 

0 

on 

■|s  ^ 

a 

fTfr. 

S 

03 

0  +3 

a  a 

'K 
0 

a 

57 

00 

r-c 

CO 

1 

5 

0 

rH 

1 

;i 

5 

S 

%H 
0 

a 

^ 

d 

0 

0 

ti 

a 

& 

0 
.a 

03 

rfi 

t- 

•53     • 

0 

oi 
^ 

03 

C*H 

!3 

■n 

0 

S 

a> 

0 

0 

a 

0 

h 

4^ 

a 

.0 

Oi 

03 

«H 

•^i 

.a 

^ 

o3 

H 

a> 

ja 

U 

fl 

^ 

S 

Fl 

J 

X 

tJ 

^ 

d 

a 

0) 

'R 

S 

Bancroft  Library 


APPENDIX  O. 


625 


s 


< 

m 
O 
Z 

CQ 

H 
<! 

Xfl 

z; 
o 
(-1 

> 

W 

CD 

« 

O 
>-; 

o 

c 

o 

o 

P3 

o 

w 

H 


CO 

■a 

00 


1^ 

d 
'3 

tH  i-H  tH                                              tH                           tH                     tH               tH                                 iH 

00 

to 

tH                                                           tH               tH  tH               iH               r^ 

tH                     t^        tM  r-t  r-^  i-i  y-i        iH  T-t  rH               tH                     tH              tM        r-t  rH  »H        r-t 

t3 
.3 

1 

•a 

1 

or 

» 

/^  a  Z  >^  jc  /^  tn  ?;  ?;  Z  ?^'  H  J^'  Z  IzV/i  IK  H  jc  W  a  12  ^  r/3 1^  J^  to  K  5^  izi  z 

a 

o 
2 

S 

s 

i 

COt*t-COt-t-COQ000Q0C5Q0COa0C;t-t*t-t*b-t-00t-t-COa)t-t-t-b-Q0 

s 

•s 

n 

iyjOOt-OOCD(-COO>CJt-mC;COt-l-l-OC:CO»-COOOOOO!OCl<-lc-.  t-o 

00 

(M(MC^<?3CO(M05C^C5C^(MG^I03(MG^(M(MCOCQC^<MC^C^(yiC^<MC^CO(M(M<M 

§ 

1 

.-l01OTT)llOOt-C0050-r-itMM-*lffltOt-C0020r-ieam^>OOt-gS2r:l 
THrHiHrHrHTHi-HTHrHT-»C^01CM(M(»'^G^C^G^0^C0C<5 

1 

S 

a 

THrH               1-1  i-<  r-4                     T-(                           tH        tHiHtH                           r-l 

o 

tH                                        tH        r-t                                        tH 

■* 

iHi-l                           .Hr-I        iHr-II-l                                        l-liHiH               iH  rH  r-i  iH  t-I 

1-t 

1 

§ 
1 

£ 

6 

t;  CO  -/J  Z  W  a  Z  H  Z  Z  vj  ^  ^  H  H  ^  v:  a  m  m  Z  Z  CO  z'  z  a  H  i?  a  z 

■i 

s 

o 

a 

0) 

.9 
S 

«i«e-Tt-a)^ot-ooocccci-i<-i'!yiciiMOo<M«oocOiO(M<NOOOO 

2 

1 

tt) 

a 

ooiftmmoc-.  otoooot-oe-.  MOK5T-(,-ie.-iocii«MOOcoooo 
t-t-c-oo'^i— i£it-t—  t-i^^-oc/jb-o^-oo^-cooot-t-c/:)OOt*t-^-o^- 

ft 

T-lr-(THrHi-HrHTHr-lTH,H(M<SiMCM<M(M(M<Mcq<JJCr5 

d 

— 

C3 

rH 

h 

a 

5 

E= 

g 

ro 

u 

a* 

cu 

a 

S 

o 

o 

h< 

Q) 

Tt 

ri 

S3 

s    -e 


o 

CI 

00 

a 

o 


in 


CD 

d 
o 


si 
d 


I 

Z 

o 

.a 


.«• 


g    3 

^^ 

^^ 
«  bo 

tS  «» 
■?5 


6X)oo 

.s » 

•°5 


2a 


o 

d 
o 


QJ    ' 


o  o 

§=" 

C<H     03 

^^ 

^a 

5.1 

SI 

O   03 

dS 


I 
03 

a 


a  3 

o      M 


i 


40 


626 


APPENDIX  O. 


:j 


a 
§ 


a 

< 
O 

» 
< 

O 

i 

pq 

CQ 

n 
o 

>j 
<i 
o 
i-H 
o 
o 
I-) 
o 
« 
o 


in 

00 


OS 
<! 
P 
IB 
<! 
1-5 


CO 

•S 

d 
« 

d 
'3 

r-*                                                     T-i                   rH             tHr-t                                    rH 

«o 

-a 

3 
O 

U 

rHlH                   tH                                               tH 

Til 

r^        rH  r-t  rH  rH  rH  rH  tH                   rH  tH             r^  r-i             r-iT-(i~1        rH  rH        rH 

05 

rH 

'6 

c 

o 

fl 
at 

J 

£ 

s 

K  5s  r:  S'!  55  Z  «■  Z  ?;  ?:  Z  ?-;  ^  ^  ;^  «i  H  Z  «■  cc  xV;  J5  Z  ^  Z  ryj  ai 

1 

o 

1 

■*O!Mt-TH<NmC5rH«mO«=«>OrH^-t0Ca0cri0C00000C-.  00 

t-t-«o«ot-t-5050t-i-t-t-ooob-t-ot-«oiO'st050'X>ect-toin 

H 

COQOOOOOOOOCXXlCCCOOOOOt-CCOOOOt-OOCOt-t-t-t-ioOb-COOit-t- 

1^ 

a 

o 
P3 

a 
a 

^s-§ggsgisg?2§gf2e^§?;s§g§gE£g§5§ 

rH 
00 

ci 

CM 

(M               CO(M                                                                                                 CO        (N                           CO 

m 

cS 

Q 

THrHi-n-(T-'i-n-'TH-rHT-l{M(MC<l<M<NC-TCq<N<M 

1 

a 

ID 

09 

1 

i 

1-1                              tH                                                                  iH                              iH                tHt-ItH 

t- 

-a 
o 
O 

i-H                              iH                              iH                                                                                      lH 

•* 

tH 

0] 

o 
(M 

a 

o 

IS 

a 

CJ 

a 
o 

u 

Q 

''(soiw^         CO     M         Ma,         "'«eO(y,          =^      eo     co„     <M 
ZZZry5.^ZZ«5&ZZ^./5ZZZZc««:ZZZZHZZZV«ZK 

— 

S 

o 

i 

trgS3ggSS3S?2§g§Sgg§§5Sgi2gSf2giSg§ 

1 

sgggf£§§sg^§gg?2gss§^sggg§ssgse5:?2§ 

a 

to 
a 
W 

§g8g§SS§SS8SS§§SgSSg?§SE2gSStsSSSSg 

o 

00 

^       'gg                               §§      §§        §§s 

CM 

rHC^cn^>oot-ooo=orHN«M;>got:;ogo>ogg«3;go^ggorH 

^ 


*    « 


Sao 

33 

« 

N 

d) 

S 

03 

3 

s 

si 


'-'       rH 


1 

1 

(4-1 

(M 

o 

a 

ri 

o 

r> 

c 

d 

OS 

^ 

a 

fl 

3 

<- 

y 

£ 

c 

a 

■y 

a 


w 


t-» 

<T» 

^ 

b- 

OJ 

(4 

a 

S 

(1> 

a 

a 

u 

,s 

a 

^ 

a 

eS 

•" 

3 

g 

I' 

»^ 

2 

t3 
cr» 


g 


APPENDIX  O. 


627 


< 

m 
O 

<J 
ro 
!S 

O 

M 

H 

n 
o 

ij 

-»! 
O 
»-* 

c 
o 
>-3 
o 

o 


2 

00 


e 

1^ 

•a 
.3 

a 
'3 

r^                                                                       r-* 

C^ 

>. 

•a 
a 
o 

O 

tHt-i        tHi-i             rH  tH             rH        i-i                              tH  ^H  rH  t-i 

tH  tH  tH  tH  rH  rH  r-t                     i-t               rH  tH               tH  tH                     ,h  t-i  i-f  t-h  tH 

S 

■a 
J 

O 

Q 

-y;  5^' 2i '/j  73  2i  z  ;^' y^- oj  r/i  y*  zVy;  cr:  ;^  :d  :z:  z  z  ;^' cc  r:  «2  ^ 

1 

O 
■D 

.3 

l§S5S§85§S§SgSg5SSSS38§SS5§§§S§§ 

H 

s 

SSSSS§5S§S3S5SSSg§lgg3§2S§33§§Sg 

s 

s 

a 

ti 

a 

o 

CO 

00 

a! 

■rHC=JW'<*lOOt-OOCS  Or-fMCC-^iOOb-OOOOrHC^CO-^iaOh- QOCiOi-' 

1 

1 

i 

d 
'a 
1^ 

T-t                              iH  i-t         tHtH                              iH 

ffl 

3 

5 

rH                            tH                                                     rH 

M 

(M 

S 

■a 
§ 

1 
£ 

ai  ?^'  z  r/2  a  iz  z  cc  a  z  cc  a  a  :z  z  ;z  2;  cc  z  03  !K  cc  w  w  k3  m  ai  z  z  ?;■  z 

1 

o 

g 

g§gS§§§§§g3gg3SgSggSg^§Sg§§§S5& 

M 

S 

£gS;-2ggSgggSfr?:gs§f2frf3gg§^;r5t:Sfr52g?i 

O 

B 
£ 

(a 

s 

□ 

c 
Ed 

rH<yieO-^lOOt-COC:OWrM<rO-^OOb-COCi;:rT-.C^CO'^iriOH.GCCiOrH 
rHi-(rHi-«r-lr^r-THrHr-(C^<M(MCaC^C^CqO^C^(>lO0Ct3 

a 


a 


bo 
■H 

s 

a 

-<1 

.a 

h- 

to 

-*^ 

1— « 

si 

J3 

a) 

^ 

0] 

a 

z 

»4 

a 

fc 

o 

* 

a 

J3 

a) 

i" 

^ 

^      OS 
rH      £c 

■3   5 


es     rt 


P< 
o 


a 

w 

m 

a 

^: 

O 

5  . 

a 

o;^ 

a 

^ 

■3^ 

s 

"■3 

;S 

sS 

bn 

m     y 

<L> 

n 

la 

^ 

h 

fc-o; 

^ 

03 

sS 

3 

i: 

■o 

^ 

"-s 

Of) 

"S 

o 

in 

« 

t» 

03 

m 

•O 

o 

.4-3 

i 

O 
? 

fU 

ti 

>> 

rfl 

la 

„ 

X 

1 

"o 

sj 

s 

•o 

a 

^ 

*-• 

03 

s 


03      ,0 


s   t 


a    „ 


a 

o 

u 

OS 


H 

03 


o 

z 


628 


APPENDIX  O. 


S 


D 

■-5 


CO 

O 

^ 

n 

«! 

03 

12; 

o 

M 
EH 

i 

« 

P3 
O 

< 

M 

C3 

o 
>^ 
o 
« 
o 

H 
IS 


CO 


T-l  T-t  TH   T-<  tH      CO 


CO 

Tyj  a  K  z  r/j  cc  CO  td  13  ^5  ;z  ;^' 


CO 


H  a  M  ^  ^  Ss  ?i  sH  ?;  7-:  ?!  r/ 


:  r/  S^  ^  H  1^  Z 


OT-l'^OC0OOt-7-lT-<(riC0C^C0Clrricipo(MC0Tf(c:Oli^CTCCO'nM*10!D 


Ost-(MT-tCSTf(0*^10T-'0'^iao^^Clt-THOTHt-t-C5rHG^l-*T-(b-COt-(M 


iH0aMTl(OOt-00ClOr-i(MM'*10t0t-00O!Or-l(nM-1>lCt0e-0r)C-.  Or-I 
THTHrHT-l^-THT-<T-<THTHC-lC^(M(M<>l(M(MCMC-^<^C.?CO 


s 

o 

01 

a 


^  ->.  Z  ;c  x  ^^  ry:  y.  rj3  -/i  rg  re  ai  r/f  a:  Z  p^  I?  p  H  Z  ec  a:  a  P  Z  Z  fg  rZ 


:=i  't'  '1" 
rA 


^     s 


iCb-Ofy>«^OCOCOCOO<S'^OCiT-tdCldO^O-r-lfOiflC-l"^50C^CC>COffl 


tDO(MW?lftCia)MCO(>*Il^b-«b-fOOWiCi(MCS<M'^0«00(MCCO(yj'^ 
t-CrOOb-COOOOrHTH(MrHTHcOCO(MOOOOOCsOC--t-t-OOCOCOr-COO(M 


T-l<yiCt5'*li350t-OOOOr-l05CO'r)<100t-COOOi-ie-1W^iao(-Crc-.  o 
T-<i-HrHTHT-1r-«r-rHT-(r-iClC^IMC^©5(MC^C-lC5  0TCO 


APPENDIX  O. 


629 


CD 


W 

< 

m 

O 

PQ 

Eh 
■< 
m 

IZT 
O 

H 
% 

CO 

n 
o 

< 

o 

*A 
O 
W 
O 

a 

Eh 


1§ 


o 
<1 


1 

r-i                                  tH  rH                                                                                                              tH  rH  rH  rH  r-t 

00 

3 
O 

O 

1-1        rH  r-lrllHTH                                        iH 

t- 

6 

rHrHiHr-tr-f                   iH                               rH  tH  tH  i-t  tH  rH        r-(  tH  tH 

rH 

.a 

o 
Eh 

•a 

a 

§ 

2 

Q 

CI 

yj !»  H  z  z  ^i  H  a  iz;" ;?;  aj  z  aj  M  H  ryj  a  w  cc  t«  w  H  ;^  :z  H  M  H  W  K 

s 

i 

« 

S 

s 

n 

.9 

SgiSSSSSSSSSSSSSSfeSSSfeSSSSSSSSS 

X 

3gSgSS5gSgS§Sl5§8§§§g'igg§bgSSSSS 

Cii) 

Q 

Ed 

OC-]Cr5Ci5<MO00t-0Clt-OO00OOOTHrH<M01rHr-iOOmO02ClC300 

'4 
O 
CO 

§OT                           §                     CO        <M         CO                                                           <M 

Q 

rHc^co-^occt-cooi  o-i-iffico'^oot— Qr>Oi01-Hc^^co■^lao^-c/Doo 

r-l7-lrHTHTHT-lT-(rHTHr-<(MINCM(M(MOaO5«(n<SC.0 

1 

s 

C4 

' 

rH  tH        tH                                                      rH  rH  rH        rH 

l- 

•a 

s 
o 

O 

r-*y-^        THrHlH             tH                   i-h       iH                         rH  rH             t-H  tH       iH 

1-1                   rH                   r-lrH                                          rH  r1  r<  rH             rH  r-l             rH 

rH 

a 

1 

§ 

a 
o 

en 

■^        CO     .                                                                                            . 

^MH^                    MCOCOM                    co='"=^^=«^           =» 
""B?-7^:co"co^y„y(^<N<So,cOH>fe:;z;^j^MS>^'="N*'<N=' 

a  Z'  J5  a  ^  to  H  H  a  aj  -«  3  M  a  H  ry-  H  1^  K  IZ  IZ  (K  TO  m  ry"  M  ^  is"  IZ  ;5'  Z^ 

* 
o 
c 
o 

s 

1 

O-^C-1C0'i<«DO(r)O(M-r)lT}(lC'J2t-l--*-H(yir-l<0OrHcrt0rt(cn-!<-^r-l« 

rH  rH  O  -^  -t  C-T  l^'rH  'MirJOOOCOCTiCSO*— -^lltlCOMasC^COb-rHaJCOl^CrO 

© 
o 

a 

ii 

a 

S                            CO                                              §        CO        <M                            COIN         CO                     <M 

1:- 

Oi 

en 

1 

?-lrHrHrHrHrHrHrHrHrHC^<MCMC^Oa©5c^C^ci(^COCO 

?f 

?^ 

i 

rC3 
CO 

* 

<^ 

7" 

^ 

'A 

tlO 

a 

•o 

o 

a 

* 

;«: 

fS 

a 

-< 

3 

tJ 

CI 

03 

a 

a 

0    , 

pa 

OQ 

»   03 

03 

aj3 

SI 

a 

<M 

w.t! 

<o 

B^ 

d 

P^ 

?i, 

ife 


^     a 


a 


3 

<1 

o 

Cm 

Tt 

CO 

Si 

<U 

t- 

<u 

a 

,d 

<4H 

o 

rt 

rH 
f5 

Ch 

Ph 

<M 

I   .§ 


630 


APPENDIX  O. 


in 

00 


o 


M 
(« 
«J! 

CO 

O 
SS 
tq 

t3 

M 

H 

-«! 

;?: 
o 

<! 

;> 

« 

H 
CO 
P3 
O 

iJ 
«! 

M 
C 

o 

1^ 
o 
« 
o 

H 
H 


o 

H 
O 

o 


s 


COOCOm'>Tmcr;Ot-Ot-iOCi«h-Qnw:jOO<r5COCOT-'lfit— 0(Mt-IO«0 


«oe^'5^io<n"*fc-ocr)M-^ooco*^ooi-ioooa)0"^co'«*cob-ooomco 

a^OOC^OOSOt-OOClCstr-cr.  rHC:OOCOCSC;OOt-t-«OOOOC-.  t-C0XClC5 


a 


p 


« ■*  pj  OT  OT  2^  P^  ^-  y-  K  pq  y  a  a  a  pq  ^^  H  H  H  H  ^  H  K  P=  ^  fj  "^_  "^^ 

/'i  /i  K  x  a  t^'  H  a;  !0  -/■  25  05  lK  ?i  f^  cc  a3  a  Z  f!  ;z  K  trj '/;  55  Z  » ct  Iz  S'l 


•^•^(Mt-mcOTHOOOt-OOt-OiOTHiH-^int-OeOi-ICir-ICsOOCC^O 


TUB 


aecaj^ai  'X  H  i»  re  cc  S  K  a  H  H  W  ai  ct'  to  W  ?i  z^'  Z  co  W"  K  Z  W"  ai  !Z  z" 


c(^(M'H<oooeoM*i'iT-'Ocscra)Ocoirier>coicococ;<x>«oeoQOO"^"*eo 


OT-<<:^inb-o^csc^ocoMb-OT-(-^fo^c-Tt-T-<t-.T-tTt<iCi-iojcysooi"^as 

^-i0OC»000000CCC»OrHOlHO0^0000t-asT-(OCiC5OrHO00«0Ki0000 


,H(yicr5Tj(io;oe'OOmorHeJcoTi<viot-^050jH2Tcg;*igtserCCo;«TH 

THrHT— IrHrHrHr-'rHTHrHC^C^OJC^OlC^C^C^JOiG^COCO 


a 


a 

3 

93 


a 


a 

o 

a 


,a 

,a 

<o 

vh 

*d 

S 

g 

< 

s 

t- 

fc 

»! 

ffl 

a 

3 

03 

a 

a 

g 

a 

d 

•• 

1 

w 

.. 

ai 

H 

H 

tc 

a 

a 

■Saj    <fa 


sa 

Si 

8 

rO 

0 

o 

ce 

<D 

CO 

o 

t4 

b- 

O) 

t* 

•fi 

a 

a 

a 

Q> 

^ 

05 

o 

o 

ca 

O 

!r> 

<« 

A 

o 

a 

s     g 


a 
o 


APPENDIX  O. 


631 


^¥ 


» 

< 
m 
O 
£5 

D 

CQ 

Eh 
< 

m 
Z 
O 

M 

^ 
25 
H 
CO 
83 
O 

iJ 
-< 

t-H 

cs 
o 

o 
« 
o 
» 

H 

H 


a 

a 
"3 

1-trH                                     tH                         rHiH 

in 

S 

o 
O 

rH  r-<  iH                         t-h        t-"  r-f                         rH 

t- 

OS 

o 

r-trHiH                               r-lrH        rH                   i-H -pH  rH 

0 

.S 

s 

1 

•a 

1 

CO 

m 

'^"t:«'_«=^rHmtcC4^_a2«HHa3'=^.P=^H^ 

ii  25  i^'  z  z  z  aj  w  a  z  2;  a  a  z  z  !/J  z  ;^  z  !K  m 

i 

■yirHCOOOC:<MX)10C505£>I^a5iatMOO-*t-iaOO 

oocot-t-ooooi-t-ot-t-t-t-t-t-eot-t-tr-i-o 

M 

s 

T)ll«^lft)0SiyJOL'5OOcX'C0rH-o-*00CSC15O-* 

oooooocooocnoot-i-oocot-i-oot-t-t-oooot-t- 

1 

o 

a 

bin 
Ed 

ja   . 

rH01ft-*QO-*mcOOlC»rH10rH(MCO(»Oe-OCOC(M'b    S 
OOQOOOOOt-t-t-t-C-.  0C00O5C-.  OOCCOOCOJOOOC-    S   OJ 

rH 
00 

CV 

1 
n 

i-ifflC0'^O«0t*00C5O^C-lC0'^lCOt-CCCiOi-l(Mc0'^lAOt-C0CiOi-i 
^T-lTHr-<i-iT-HT-'^r-n-^CM<y»0^<M(M<MlMC^(M(MCQCiQ 

A 

■5 

C4 

lH                       i-H  1-1                                                           1H          tH 

10 

0 

tH                                 1-HT-t                            i-tr-t        T-l                           rH               i-t'rHT-t              T-( 

i-frHT-iTH                     -r^               y^               ^f^        ,-(T-(rH                     1-t                     i-ti-H        1-t 

rH 

•d 

a 

(D 

« 

El, 

•a 

s 

c3 

C 

.2 

£ 
Q 

-■!^^a"'sa"a'=^'-^^='a«a'*aa='ap:^^'aaz=^'-'a 

?:  ^  73  vi  a'  Z  Z  Z  Z  Z  Z  of  Z  7:  a  Z  a  Z  Z  ^  Z  ai  cc"  cc  z  z  z  Z  Z  ai 

1^ 

4) 

s 

O 

d 

•*MC:'-SiacOOmO(>>irih-C:OOC3C2l-rHn5-)<Ot-10COQri-(-f(yiO 

3 

s 

oeoocajo<s«b-io-<i<««><yiiOT)<mM-*ooooioiy<oc!(j>torH»o 

.a 
c 

a 

d 
t-Ob-rHc:oooot-tooooooooc50T-<oc-.  t-wi-cic-.  OC--C-.  oot-oo^; 

^1 

cj            0       0                                                 00                                                             K 
<S             CO        (?>                                                      CO             <M                                                                  -g 

0 

z 

Q 

rH(MeO-<l<10<Ot-OOC20r-"MCOTl<inot-</~C!Or-i(MCOHj<i.-;ot-CDOOi-< 
rH  rH  rH  rH  rH  tH  rH  tH  rH  rH  OJ  cq  (M  CM  ©fl  C^  (M  C5  C<»  C^  CO  CO 

S 
o 

a 


•a 


ui 


a 

a 

0 

a 

g 

u 

si 

rH  r-l 


s 

a 

F! 

a 

d 

.a 

a 

a 

-*j 

a 

s 

m 

a 

a 

0  A 

.fi  = 

ti  oj 

tc  0 

<i:-2 

C   H 

~;  OS 

CO 

T3 

d 

S 

^ 

0 

ffi 

f 

r 

a 

S 

P^ 

Q 

e» 

OS 

>. 

,£3 

rH 

a 

J3 

4 

<M 

0 

0 

d 

S 

OS 

Ph' 

5 

<N 

a     a 


J 

J 

a 

g 

3 

R 

a 

' 


:^^^^^-}  1 


i 

1 
1 

,.- 

t 


r 


-y\^ 


-K 


V- 


1 

i   ■ 

"' 

/'■"-r 


r 


H- 


■..    \ 


Lj.,4n\,  \\  .,.- 


r 


'  I 


/'  ' 


.MAi»  or  tin: 
HASLN  or  LA  PLATA 

ii.\si;i)  II 'ON  Tin:  iii;sri.Ts  oi'  ■I'lii:  i:.\n:nri'i(>.\ 

IMIKII   'llli;  I DMMANll  (II 

riio'?  .i.i'A(.i:.  r.s. .v\\'», 

]  ill  iii«-  yl■.M■^  in.-.;{-.-,i,-.Mi  :>ii 

AM)  or  TU!-:  AI).IA('i:\T  COI'.X'lItlKS. 

C'i><ll|i|h'll     ll  .Mil      lll<-     111'.-.!     .hiMm.i  illi    -^ 


^^jtx. 


IS 


,.i  III.-  liii.Ts  r,. 


aM!iiii;:iiiia 


\. 


BaQcroft  Library 


(/ 


> 


RETURN     CIRCULATION  DEPARTMENT 

TO— ^      202  Main  Library 


LOAN  PERIOD  1 
HOME  USE 

2 

3 

4 

5 

6 

ALL  BOOKS  MAY  BE  RECALLED  AFTER  7  DAYS 

RENEWALS  AND  RECHARGES  MAY  BE  MADE  4  DAYS  PRtOR  TO  DUE  DATE. 
LOAN  PERIODS  ARE  1-MONTH.  3-MONTHS.  AND  1-YEAH. 
RENEWALS;  CALL  (415)  642-3405 


DUE  AS  STAMPED  BELOW 


JAN  2  5  139 

) 

DEC  27 1991 

AOWDiscnrTu 

•91 

thiL.  i-iz-i5 

91 

kcwhc  !'0'.  ; 

UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA,  BERKELEY 
FORM  NO.  DD6,  60m,  1/83  BERKELEY,  CA  94720 


®$ 


U.C.  BERKELEY  LIBRARIES 


C0D7Qia337 


<»m 


